L o s t
by iSpeakSarcasms
Summary: He was lost in his affair. She was lost in her affair and her pain. He was lost in his want for her and his fear. Silvaze. Sonaze diss. Don't like, don't read.
1. Guess Who's Back?

_**A/N: No, your eyes do not deceive you, it is NowLoading. Although, I go by iSpeakSarcasms now.**_

 _ **L o s t**_

 _Chapter One: Guess Who's Back?_

Reading was a wonderful pastime, especially when the environment was peaceful enough to allow getting lost in the words on the pages. It was the perfect way to destress. There was no husband wanting attention, no household chores that needed to be done, and no child that was too wrapped up in their playing to realized that they could be distracting. It was just silence. Beautiful, wonderful, calming _silence_.

…Right up until the ringing of an iPhone completely shattered the fragile mural that silence had created.

With an irritated sigh, the individual who had been reading retrieved the blaring object from the coffee table and checked the Caller ID. Across in white letters across the purplish-black screen was the word "Hubby" accompanied by a heart emoji.

"Yes?"

" _That's all I get? A statement synonymous to 'what do you want'?"_

"You could've gotten a voicemail."

A sigh. _"I obviously interrupted you while you were doing something. Mybad for not having an itinerary of your day and not knowing the perfect time to call. I just wanted you to know that I'm gonna need you to pick Shift up from school today."_

"Wait a minute. Wait. A. Minute. You interrupt my reading time, my time to destress and relax, and _command_ me to do something for you?"

" _I didn't comm…"_

"You didn't ask. You didn't say 'can you please' or 'would you mind', oh no. _You_ said 'I'm gonna need you'. That is a command."

Another sigh. _"Blaze, don't do this. Can you please just pick up our son? Please?"_

"Why can't you get him? It's your turn anyways."

" _I have to work late. By the time I get off, it'll be his bedtime."_

"You seem to work late more and more often. Why don't they just change your schedule?"

" _I don't know…look, babe, can you please get Shift today? I promise I'll get him the rest of the week."_

A laugh. A very cynical one, to be exact. "Nice try. Today's Thursday."

" _Alright, well, I'll get him next week. Promise."_

The feline shifted, resting her hand on the crook of the arm she was using to hold the phone up. "Fine, I'll pick him up."

" _Thank you, you're the best. Oh, and before I forget and you're completely thrown for a loop, guess who's back in town?"_

"Your sister?"

A chuckle. _"Yeah, I wish, but no it's not her. It's your friend."_

"You'll have to elaborate, I have many friends."

" _Your_ _ **best**_ _friend."_

Pause.

" _Blaze? Baby, did you hang up?"_

Silence ensued.

" _ **Hello**_ _?"_

"S…sorry, I just…how do you know that he's back?"

" _I saw him. He was walking around downtown when I was on my lunch break, so I took a second to catch up with him and I told him to drop by and see you since it's been so long since the two of you have spoken."_

"Wait, he's coming _here_?"

" _Yeah. It might take him a minute though, because he's travelling by foot. Something about him being robbed on a bus in Angel Island and now he's terrified to set foot on one. Anyway, I had saw him a little over an hour ago, and I don't know how long it takes to walk from my job to our house, so if someone rings the doorbell, it's probably him."_

"O…okay…"

" _I'll let you get back to your reading and I'll see you when I get home. Love ya."_ And then a click was heard.

However, the fact that her husband had hung up the phone didn't seem to register in Blaze's mind. She became lost in thought. Her best friend was back. The best friend that she hadn't seen in years? The same best friend that skipped her wedding? The same best friend that hasn't even bothered to text her since he last saw her? The same one that didn't even bother to say goodbye? Well wasn't this just a doozy?

Blaze had no clue how to react. She couldn't be mad at him, simply because it was petty to hold a grudge for six and a half years and because he had to have a good reason for seemingly disappearing off of the face of the Earth. But would she be able to welcome him with open arms, all these years and all these emotions later? And not feel just the slightest bit of pain? Was that possible? Perhaps. Maybe feigning excitement and picking up where they left off would work out better in the long run than greeting him with bottled up anger.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang; and upon turning around, the feline was able to make out the figure of a familiar spiky head through the partially covered glass of the front door. Setting her phone back down on the coffee table, Blaze went and unlocked the door before pulling it open and revealing a light grey hedgehog.

He was just as fine now as he was when she last saw him. Maybe even better looking.

"Uh…hey Blaze. Long time no see."

His voice had deepened. Another attractive trait that enhanced in his absence. When he spoke, his voice came out as a smooth baritone. It was…captivating, if she were to be completely honest.

"Hey Silver," the feline responded, coming out of her stupor and moving to hug the hedgehog. His fur was soft and warm, just like she remembered, but she didn't seem to recall all this muscle that was attached to it. Where did that come from?

Silver hugged back, not noticing how Blaze seemed to melt at the action, and gave his usual goofy grin. "Missed you," He said quietly, inadvertently pulling the feline closer to him.

"Missed you too," She managed to respond after taking a second to collect herself. She was married after all, and she shouldn't be thinking about a man like this. "So, what brings you back to The Square?"

The hedgehog released the hug and shrugged. "A lot of things. Mostly being homesick, though."

"Why'd you leave Station Square in the first place?" Blaze questioned, kind of alluding to him missing her wedding, but not really just in case he got uncomfortable.

A nervous chuckle, accompanied with a scratch to the head. "Uh, well that's a, um…rather long story…"

"You've got time, well, you will if you come with me."

He watched his friend leave what he inferred was the living room and walk into another room, only to return a few seconds later with a purse and a set of keys. "Where you going?"

"To go get my son."

Pause. Then, "Son?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, when people get married and are blessed with fertility, they tend to have children."

"Oh, y…yeah, true. I guess I'll tag along and meet your son."

With a small grin and a nod, Blaze led her friend out of the house and towards her car.

"So uh," Silver began as he got into the passenger's side, "Any other kids or just a son?"

"No, just a son." The feline responded as she got into the driver's side and started the car, putting on her seatbelt as she pulled off.

"Name?"

"Shift."

A nod. "So, uh, not to be nosy or anything, but why didn't you have any more kids?"

"Well, that's an interesting story. I never told anyone this, but I was actually pregnant about two weeks before my wedding. Luckily I was in the first trimester, and when a woman is pregnant for the first time, she doesn't show until the second trimester. In all honesty, I didn't want to have a baby right after I got married. I mean, I always thought in my head that I'd be married for a couple of years before I reproduced; but I guess my plan wasn't in the cards. So, I had Shift, and Sonic and I decided to wait until Shift is less of a hassle to take care of before we had any more kids. Make sense?"

"Uh…yeah…yeah that makes sense. I totally understand." Which was true, Silver did understand why Blaze had been married for six years and only had one child. However, he was having a hard time comprehending the fact that she was _pregnant_ the last time that he had ever seen her. That was the part that was tripping him up. He never would've imagined it. _Ever_.

"You okay?"

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine. Just uh…what's Shift like?"

"You know how Sonic is? Yeah, like that only younger."

The hedgehog chuckled, "So, I take it he's a handful?"

"You have no idea. Get the two of them together and I feel like I have two kids instead of one. But, even though Shift is wild like his father, he can be very respectful and very sweet. In fact, when he behaves himself, he's a little angel."

"Like you?"

"Are you implying that there are times where I don't behave?"

"I mean, there were times where you'd be wildin', but I was referring to how you can be respectful and tactful and nice. I figure that's where Shift gets it from." Silver shrugged. "Of course, I could be wrong and think that he got it from his father."

"I wish. You and I both know that Sonic is a trip."

"A _real_ trip," chuckled the hedgehog. "But you always said that his foolishness was cute."

Maybe Blaze's ears were playing tricks on her, but she could've sworn she heard pain in the latter part of Silver's statement. But why would the things that she liked about her husband hurt her friend? She decided to change the subject. "Yeah. Anyway, uh, why'd you leave Station Square?"

But Silver was having none of this subject change. He didn't care that it broke his heart to converse about Blaze's son, he'd rather do that than explain why he left the city that he called home six years ago. "No, no, don't change subjects yet. I wanna hear more about Shift."

"Why?"

"Because, unlike your other friends, I wasn't there for any of his birthdays or his original date of birth. So, I wanna find out what I've been missing."

With a sigh, the feline nodded her head. "Fine. Shift was born on Halloween at around two in the morning. He was extremely premature."

"When was he supposed to be born?"

"First week of December. He was nearly two months early, and my body wasn't physically ready for him to come when he did. I had pre-eclampsia when I went into labor, so to keep me and Shift from potentially dying, I had an emergency C-section."

"Any other complications?"

"Not really. Shift spent the first two weeks of his life in the NICU because he was so small and born so early. And he was nameless for about a week and a half."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, Sonic and I had thought of some names, but none of them seemed to fit his appearance. We had originally planned on calling him Sonic Jr, but Shift isn't the spitting image of his daddy, so that wouldn't work. I suggested that we name him Phoenix, but Sonic said that since a phoenix was a bird, that wouldn't work. Then one day when I was allowed to take him out of the container that they keep the NICU babies in, Sonic and his brother were talking about cars and he said "gear shift" and Shift opened his eyes and looked at him. At first I thought it was just a coincidence, but then Manic said "shift" and he moved his eyes towards him. So, we named him Shift."

Silver chuckled, but it wasn't genuine. Hiding behind it was the pain that he felt for not being there to share that moment. "Sorry I missed that."

Blaze shrugged as if it didn't bother her, but deep down she did wish that Silver could've at saw her son at least once. She turned into the parking lot of Shift's school and parked the car near the main entrance. "We'll talk about why you left later. For now, come with me."

The hedgehog obeyed and got out of the car, following his friend into the school and to the main office.

Sitting in a chair adjacent to the front desk was a hedgecat dressed in a graphic-tee, shorts, and a pair of Vans. He was reading, or pretending to read, a magazine; but once he heard the familiar jingling of keys, the flimsy book was placed back on its table and he was no longer sitting in the chair. "Mommy," he said ecstatically, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he watched his mother enter the office. His heart warmed when his Blaze responded with her usual but never monotonous "hi sweetie" as she signed him out, and his face lit up when she turned to him with a small smile. Shift didn't care if he lived with his mother, he'd never get tired of seeing her smile and hearing her call him sweetie.

"How was school?"

"It was fun. I got to be the line leader today," the child said, starting to follow Blaze out of the office, but stopped dead in his tracks once he saw Silver standing in the hallway. With a risen brow and a tilt of his head, he asked, "Who's that guy?"

"That's Silver, one of mommy's friend's."

The hedgehog offered a polite wave and smiled once Shift returned the gesture, accompanied with a smile of his own.

Now that he knew who this grey stranger was, the hedgecat had no problems with following the two out of the building and to his mother's car. The ride back was filled with short stories of Shift's day, and Silver finally got to see what his best friend's son was like.

"Okay Shift, I'm gonna let you in the house so you can start your homework while I talk to Silver, okay?" Blaze said as she pulled into the driveway and shut off the car.

"Yes ma'am," was her son's response as he patiently waited on her to open his door, and headed towards the front porch once it was.

The feline followed, taking out her keys and opening the door, watching her own flesh and blood dart into the house and into the dining room before she closed the door and turned to face her friend, who was leaning against the trunk of her car. "So, why'd you leave? Though this place was your home."

"It was, and still is; but I had to leave."

"Why?"

Silver took a deep breath. There was no lie that would be able to cover up why he left the city the day before his best friend's wedding. The truth, though it was a bit absurd, was the clearest path that he could take. "I didn't want to ruin your wedding."

Pause. Did she hear him correctly? "And how would you have ruined my wedding?"

"By objecting to your marriage."

Pause. Was it something _wrong_ with her ears? "Why would you do that?"

"Because," Silver began, lifting his head so that he could look his friend in her captivating golden eyes. "I love you."

Emergency brake applied. Either Blaze had a hearing problem, she was delusional, or she just heard Silver tell her that he loved her. " _What?_ "

"I love you. I loved you before you got engaged to Sonic, I loved you before you started dating Sonic, I loved you before you even met Sonic. I felt that I should've been the one with you instead of him, but I didn't want to be selfish and ruin the single greatest day of your life, so I removed myself from the situation."

"So…why'd you come back?"

A sigh, accompanied by a head shake. "You have no idea what being away from you has done to me. I couldn't take the distance that I'd put between us."

This was all too much. First, Silver comes back out of the blue after not speaking to her for six years, and then he drops the bombshell on her that he _loves_ her? Blaze wouldn't be able to process this even if she wanted to.

After a moment of silence passed, Blaze offered her friend a small smile. "Nice to have you back, but, um, I have to go help Shift with his homework. You should go."

She'll never forget how hurt he looked before he turned and walked away. Maybe it was wrong to push him away so quickly, after all, he _did_ come back to Station Square because he missed her. But how could she hold a normal conversation with him _right_ after he told her how he really felt? It was awkward, and it made Blaze slightly uncomfortable.

With a sigh, Blaze turned and went into the house to see her son playing with his pencils instead of utilizing them to do his homework. Seeing this made the feline temporarily forget the discomfort that her friend had caused her, and she gave a small grin. "What are you doing?"

Startled, the hedgecat dropped his pencils and leaned his chair back on two legs so that he could peer around the counter. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you. And what'd I tell you about doing that?" Blaze responded, walking into the kitchen and placing Shift's chair back on all fours. "You're either gonna fall and hurt yourself, or you're gonna fall, hurt yourself, and break the chair."

"Sorry."

"Its fine, sweetie, I just try not to do it anymore. Now, why aren't you doing your homework?"

Shift gave a goofy grin. "I was waiting on you."

"Why?"

"I like when you help me."

"Shift, I'm not always gonna be around to help you."

"But you're here now, so you can help me."

A child's logic was simple. But it could also be very convincing. With a sigh that blended amusement and defeat, Blaze sat in the chair next to her son. "Alright. What do you need help with?"

 _ **A/N: I do not talk. I am just a writer**_


	2. Catching Up and Overtime

**_A/N: "I wanted you to know, whenever you are around, I can't speak." - Childish Gambino "Heartbeat"_**

 ** _I'm gonna slightly break my rule of me not talking about my writing to say this: Writers that veiw what erotica/romance writings, I don't have different moods for when I write things of that nature. I'm not writing those things to arouse people, so you can stop thinking that. I do the same thing every time I write, which is play some music and drink an Arizona. I'm a very relaxed writer. Just thought I'd clear that up. This is the only time that I'll ever explain my writing, because I do not talk. I am just a writer._**

 _Chapter Two: Catching Up and Overtime_

 _(With Blaze, approx. 10:45 AM)_

It was the ringing of her cell phone that drew Blaze out of her deep, peaceful sleep. She opened her eyes and stretched a little bit before picking up her phone and putting it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey." It was Silver.

"Hey," The feline responded, sitting up.

"Uh, did I wake you up?"

"You did, but it was time for me to get up anyway," Blaze said, looking over at her clock, which read quarter 'til eleven. _So glad Sonic took Shift to school and is picking him up_

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to apologize for just showing up out of the blue and throwing my feelings onto you like that. It was wrong..."

"It's alright Silver, don't sweat it. As a matter of fact, why don't we go down to Station Outlets and hang out? We've got six years of catching up to do."

On the other end of the line, Silver sighed internally. Going to Station Outlets was fun, but Blaze had a tendency to linger in department stores, trying on clothes that she wasn't even going to buy. But, he did want to catch up with her. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna need a ride over there."

Blaze chuckled. "I'll need your address to pick you up."

"I'll give you my address when you're about to leave."

"Why not now?"

"Because you have a tendency to take forever to get ready."

"I do not. Your memory must be foggy because I don't take forever to get ready."

"You do."

"Whatever. This is coming from the person that doesn't have a car. Would you like to walk to Station Outlets?" Blaze asked, smirking.

There was a period of silence before Silver said, "You know what, lemme just go ahead and give you my address. You know where Mystic Ruins Town Homes are, right?"

"Uh huh."

"I live in apartment 11-A."

Blaze, chuckled, satisfied that her threat of making Silver walk all the way across Station Square worked. "Alright, I'll be there in a little bit."

"Alright, I'll be in front of my building. See you when you get here," The hedgehog said before hanging up his phone.

Blaze then set her phone back on the nightstand before going to her bathroom and taking a shower. She knew that it would take up more time, but she couldn't just roll out of her bed and get dressed when the odor of sex and sweat had marinated into her body from the night before. And besides, Silver didn't see her at her best yesterday, so she decided that he should get the privilege of seeing her before her day had taken a toll on her.

 _(With Silver, approx. 12:00 PM)_

The hedgehog sat on the curb outside of the door to his apartment complex, checking his phone every once in a while for the time. He had been ready since 11:15, and been sitting outside since 11:30.

"She's taking forever, just like old times.' He thought as he shifted slightly, sitting in a butterfly position as he stared at the entrance to Mystic Ruins Town Homes, waiting on Blaze's car to pull up to the stop sign.

Soon enough, Blaze's Ford Fusion pulled into the entrance and up to Silver, stopping just a few feet away from where he was sitting.

"Took you long enough," He said as he stood and walked towards the passengers side of the car, getting in.

"I'm sorry, what was that? Would you like to be traveling across town on foot?" Blaze asked as she looked at the hedgehog, not yet pulling off.

Silver turned to face her and his breath hitched in his throat as his peach muzzle began showing tints of pink. "I...didn't say anything."

"That's what I thought," the cat said before putting the car in gear and pulling away from the curb, exiting Silver's neighborhood.

 _Christ...I forgot how beautiful she was..._ The hedgehog thought, still eyeing the feline.

Blaze felt the uncomfortable sensation of someone watching her and she glanced over at Silver. "What?"

"Oh...n...nothing. You...just look nice today..."

"Only today? Was I ugly yesterday?" The feline joked.

Silver's eyes widened and he frantically shook his head. "What, no. No way. You're beautiful everyday. I just think that you looked especially nice today, I wasn't implying that you didn't look good yesterday because, I mean, you looked bomb yesterday. I just didn't wanna say anything that would make things weird..."

"Alright, I get it. Stop babbling."

Silver's face flushed. "I wasn't babbling...I just wanted you to know that I think you look nice everyday."

"Well thank you. That's nice to know. I don't hear that everyday."

 _You should..._

"Hey, you're not gonna get in trouble for hanging out with me today, are you?" Silver asked, trying to change the subject.

Upon hearing this Blaze began laughing. "Why would I get in trouble? He's my husband, not my father. I don't have to check in an ask him if I can leave the house."

"No, that's not what I meant. I asking because I thought that maybe you had something to do with Shift later or something like that and I didn't want Sonic to get mad at you if you were late."

"I don't have anything to do with Shift until I get home."

"Oh. Well good. Hanging out with me won't put you behind schedule," The hedgehog said as Blaze pulled into the parking lot of Station Outlets.

The feline chuckled before getting out of the car. "C'mon, we can look around while it's early and there aren't a lot of people here."

Silver nodded before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car as well, cringing as Blaze led them into the nearest department store.

 _(With Sonic, approx. 2:30 PM)_

The speedster pulled his Audi into the parking lot of his son's school, surveying for available spaces before backing into a spot right in front of the playground. He then got out of the car, fixed his snapback on his head, adjusted his shades, and made his way to the school. He walked through the entrance doors and into the front office, where Shift had been patiently awaiting his arrival.

Upon seeing his father, Shift smiled widely and jumped out of his chair before going to hug Sonic. "Hey Daddy!" He exclaimed, his small arms wrapped tight around Sonic's calf muscles.

"Hey Little Man, what's up," The speedster said, bending down to Shift's level and placing his hat on the other's head.

The hat was far too big for the young hedgecat, and it seemingly swallowed his head, the brim falling over his eyes.

Shift giggled and turned the hat backwards so that he could see, and so it would stay on his head. He looked up to see his father signing him out and then walking towards the door, motioning for him to follow.

"I thought you had to work today, Daddy," he said as he bounced alongside Sonic.

"I did."

"But you're not dressed up."

"I didn't have to dress up. Today was casual Friday."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that on Fridays, I don't have to wear fancy clothes. I can wear what I wear when I take you to the park."

"Can we go to the park?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nah Kiddo, I don't have enough gas to go all the way to the park today."

The hedgecat pouted. "Tomorrow?"

"Maybe. By then I might have gas," The speedster said as he and Shift exited the building and walked to his car, getting in. "So, how was school."

"It was good. I got a hundred on my shapes and colors test."

"That's great. How many shapes and colors do you know now?"

"My teacher says that I know all eight shapes and all the colors in a rainbow."

"That's real good. Did you know that there are more colors than just the one's in the rainbow?"

"Yes. Mommy's friend Mr. Silver is a color that isn't in the rainbow." The hedgecat said as his father turned into their neighborhood.

"That's right. You know...huh, your mom isn't home."

"She's not? Where is she?" Shift asked, sitting up and trying to see as Sonic pulled into the driveway.

"I don't know. I'm gonna call her and ask," he said, parking the car and getting out, going to open Shift's door. He then pulled his keys and cell phone out, leading his son to the front door as he dialed Blaze's number and put the phone to his ear.

 _(With Silver and Blaze, approx. 2:30 PM)_

"Silver, women do not gossip. We just tell secrets to our best girlfriends," Blaze said as she and Silver ate in one of the restaurants in their towns outlet mall.

"Yeah, and those girlfriends tell everyone one. How do I know this? Because I told my aunt something back on Angel Island that I said to keep a secret, and next thing I know, everyone at my church is peeking around to see if I really do go commando under my choir gown."

The feline's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. "No you didn't..."

"If the maintenance team wasn't so cheap and turned on the air conditioning, then I wouldn't need to be swinging low while I'm singing _Sweet Chariot_ ," Silver said with a shrug.

"But in church?"

"It was hot."

"It's hot now. You'd better have on some underwear."

"I do."

"Prove it."

The hedgehog was slightly taken aback by this statement, but did as he was told. He stood and lifted his shirt slightly, revealing the top edge of his boxers. "See."

"Alright. I just had to make sure you weren't lying to me."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"The same reason why you'd go commando in church," The feline said before getting up. "Can you watch my stuff while I go to the restroom?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Silver said before sitting back down and opening his bag of chips.

Blaze sighed. "You know, you didn't have to just get chips. I would've gotten you something to eat."

"Nope. I don't like owing people money. And besides, a woman buying a man's food doesn't look right."

"Suit yourself," The feline said before walking away.

However, just as she walked away, her phone rang.

Hearing something vibrate, Silver began looking in Blaze's purse, taking out makeup, a wallet, her keys, a pen, and some lip balm before finally pulling out the feline's phone. He checked the caller ID, which read "Hubby", and a deep scowl worked it's way across his face before he hit the button to decline the call.

He then began to put Blaze's things back into her purse, but as he did, he felt the uncomfortable sensation of eyes on him. He turned around to see a security guard staring at him suspiciously. "Oh, it's not what you think. My friend just went to the restroom and told me to watch her things. Once she left, her phone rang."

"Sure."

"Really, I swear..."

"What's going on here? Silver, what'd you do?" Blaze asked, returning to the table.

"This guy thinks that I was going through your purse."

"Were you?"

"Well, yeah, but it's only because your phone rang. Sonic had called you."

Blaze motioned the security guard away before taking her seat in front of Silver. "Did you answer?"

The hedgehog shook his head. "Nah. I, uh, figured that it would be awkward for him to call you and a guy answers the phone."

"Okay. Well, I might just call him later. Do you need to go in any other stores?"

" _No_." Silver said in a "duh" manner. "I ain't got no money, why am I gonna go in a store?"

An irritated sigh escaped from the feline as she picked her keys up and put her wallet, chapstick, and phone back into her purse. "Let me take you home before you get on my nerves."

"Just like old times," The hedgehog said, standing up and smirking.

"No. You weren't this annoying six years ago."

"Yeah I was. I told you earlier that your memory was foggy."

The feline gave him a look of disbelief before getting her purse and bags, walking away from Silver. "You might want to get a bottle of water. It's a little hot for you to be walking home in jeans."

Silver's smirked then faded and he trotted after her. "Blaze, chill, I was just playing. It'll take me over an hour to walk home. And it's hot."

 _(With Sonic and Shift, approx. 3:15 PM)_

"You got any threes?" Shift asked, looking across the dining room table at his father.

" _Have_. Do I _have_ any threes. And no. Go fish."

The hedgecat pouted quietly before drawing a card from the deck in the center of the table.

"Any fives?" Sonic asked before his ear twitched and he turned to face the door; the sound of a lock turning had snatched his attention. After a second of looking eagerly at the front door, it opened and Blaze stepped through with bags in both her hands. "Hey guys."

"Hey Mommy. Where you been?" Shift asked, getting up and going over to her, reaching for a bag.

"Yeah, where you been?" The speedster added on, going to close the door for the feline.

"I was at Station Outlets with Silver."

"I called you."

Blaze feigned a confused look. "You did? My phone must've been on silent. I'm sorry." She then set the bags on the couch and reached into one of them, pulling out a large shoe box. "I have a peace offering."

Sonic grinned and took the box. "Roshes?"

"Do you even need to ask?" The feline asked with a smirk?

"Mommy, did you get me anything?" Shift asked, looking in the bags on the couch.

"Of course I did. Here," Blaze said, reaching into a bag and getting two much smaller shoe boxes. "I got you some Roshes and some Vans. Is that okay?"

The hedgecat nodded and took the boxes, going to his room. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Blaze said before walking over to Sonic.

"Thanks. I never thought you'd get me these..." Sonic began, but stopped as he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He took it out and checked the caller ID before putting it to his ear. "What's up...Yeah, I'm home...Nah, I'm not busy right now, why? ...Alright, yeah, I'll be there in a second...Bye."

"What is it?" Blaze asked.

"Oh, nothing. Wave just asked if I minded coming back to help her finish up Bark's work because he's still under the weather," The speedster said before kissing his wife's forehead. "I'll see you later, love you."

And with that, Sonic walked out of the door, closing it behind him and getting into his car. After reaching into the passenger's seat and retrieving his snapback and shades, he started his car, put it in gear, and then backed out of his driveway, heading out of the neighborhood. However, instead of going to work, Sonic went to a bistro a block away from his building, parking in front of the Martini bar and getting out. He entered through the bar and walked back into the lounge area and slid into a booth, where a carnation colored hedgehog sat across from him.

"Hey Sonic," she said with a smile.

"Hey Ames."

 _ **A/N: Reviews would be nice, constructive criticism is recommended. And remember, you can leave flames like propane, but none of you can gas me; meaning that you can slander this story, say you hate it, say I suck, or anything else disrespectful, and it won't matter because I'll keep writing.**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_


	3. Lurking

_**A/N: "Things change, rearrange, and so do I." "03' Adolescence "**_

 _ **I do not talk. I am just a writer.**_

 _Chapter Three: Lurking_

 _(With Silver, approx. 5:00 PM)_

"Man I need a job, or a car; both would be nice," Silver mumbled as he closed his empty refrigerator and grabbed his wallet and phone before leaving out of his apartment complex and walking out of the neighborhood.

After a few minutes of walking, a white car pulled up behind him and one of the tinted windows rolled down, revealing a dark grey hedgehog with shades on. "Hey bro, going somewhere?"

"What's up Malique. I was gonna go get something to eat. Why?"

"I was on my way to get something to eat. Why don't you tag along?" Malique said before hitting a button and unlocking his car doors.

Silver rose a brow suspiciously before getting into the car. "Where were you gonna go eat at?"

"Graffiti's."

"That bistro downtown? Malique, I don't have bistro money..."

"Relax," the older hedgehog said, pulling off. "It's my treat."

"What? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

"What are you..."

"You're being way too nice."

Malique looked at his brother in utter disbelief. "I'm always this nice."

"Lie again," Silver said, crossing his arms.

All was quiet for a second. Then, "Alright. I need you to do me a favor."

"I knew you wanted something. Now what is it?"

"You know Sally Acorn?"

"Yeah. Why you wanna bang her?"

"Nah...well, yeah, but that's not why I was asking."

"You want me to set you up with her?"

"Yeah."

"And you think that feeding me is going to result in me owing you that favor?"

"Yep."

"Well, what if I don't want to?"

"Then you won't eat tonight."

"Fuck you mean? I have food at home."

"What food do you have at home? That doesn't consist of tasteless Ramen noodles, cereal, and poptarts?"

"Technically, the Ramen noodles can taste like chicken or beef depending on which flavor packet you use..."

An irritated sigh escaped Malique. "You're two seconds from being put out my car."

"Okay chill. I'll hook you up with Sally. I don't know how, but I will."

"Good," The older hedgehog said, pulling into the parking lot of Graffiti's and turning the car off.

He and his younger brother then got out of the car and walked up the sidewalk, through the revolving door of the host/hostess stand.

The host was a young, yellow fox who happened to be on the restraunt's phone taking an order for someone who wanted food to go. He smiled politely at the two hedgehogs before holding up a finger, indicating that he would take care of them in just a second. "Okay, so, you'd like a prime rib? And how would you like that cooked, sir?" The ferret asked the customer on the phone as Silver turned to Malique to ask a question.

However, before Silver could get his words out, Malique said, "No."

"What? You didn't even know what I was gonna ask," The younger hedgehog quietly responded.

"Yeah I do. You were gonna ask if you could get some prime rib, and the answer is no."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm feeding you in exchange for a small favor, not buying you a five course dinner."

"Can I get a steak then?"

"No, you cannot. If it costs more than twenty bucks then you can't get it."

Silver then turned to the table next to him and picked up one of the restaurant's dinner menu brochures, looking at prices. "Man, that's half of the menu."

"Well then you better order from the other half."

The younger hedgehog sucked his teeth as the host finished taking the individual's order, bid him adieu, and then hung up the phone. "I apologize for that inconvenience. Welcome to Graffiti's. Is it just two of you?"

"Yeah," Malique said as his brother nodded.

"Do you have a preference of where you want to sit?"

"Can we sit in a booth?" Silver asked.

"Of course. Right this way," The fox said before picking up two full-size dinner menus and leading the two brothers to a wing of the restaurant called the "Lounge." He then led them to a booth right behind the entrance to the room. "Thomas will be right with you," He said before walking back up front.

"Alright, so, what are you gonna eat?" Malique asked, sliding into one side of the booth.

"I don't know. Since I can't get any real food, I might just get a burger," Silver responded, sliding into the other side.

"Keep talking shit and I'll leave your broke ass here with the bill."

"And my "broke ass" will write down your PIN number and pay for the shit."

"You don't even know my PIN number."

"Double 'O' seventy-nine."

"Okay, how the hell did you get my PIN number again?"

Silver simply gave his brother an innocent smile as a male ferret dressed in black walked over to their table. "How are you gentlemen doing? My name is Thomas and I'll be taking care of you this evening. May I start you two off with something to drink?"

"What kind of beers do you have?" Malique asked as Silver rolled his eyes.

"We actually have a special on beers."

"Really? What is it?"

"It's called a beer flight. You get four six ounce glasses of four different beers of choice. It's only six dollars. The beers that we serve it with are Sam Adams, Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Corona, Dos Equis, Heineken, Perrier, Coors Lite, and Budweiser."

"Alright then. Lemme get a beer flight with Corona, Heineken, Budweiser, and Sam Adams."

"Alright. And for you Sir?" Thomas asked, turning to Silver.

"Can I get a sweet tea please?"

"You certainly can. I'll be back in just a minute," The ferret said before leaving the room to get their drinks.

"Alright Silver, how do you plan on going about getting me a date with Sally?" Malique asked.

"Man, I don't know...shit, is that Sonic?"

"Oh, no, don't change the subject. It's not too late for me to take you back home."

"No man, I'm serious. I think that's Sonic over there. He's with some girl."

"Is it Blaze?"

"Don't you think that if he was with Blaze, that I would've said that? Dumbass."

Malique growled. "Piss me off in this restaurant and see what happens."

"I'm just saying. That was stupid."

"Whatever," Malique said before scooting away from the wall and looking behind him. "Shit, that is Sonic," He said, scooting back. "Fuck is he doing here?"

"A better question is who the fuck is he with?"

"I don't wanna assume things. That chick might be someone he works with and it might be a business dinner. But, I don't know."

Malique cast another glance at the table. "Why not ask him?"

"Because if I'm wrong and he's cheating on Blaze, then he's not going to be honest and tell his wife's best friend that he's having an affair."

"Alright. Well, here's what we'll do: When What's His Face..."

" _Thomas_."

"That guy gets back, I'll ask him to give that girl over there a drink. If she's something like a mistress to Sonic, then he'll come over here and address me. If not, then he's just working."

"But if he comes over here, he'll recognize me and won't be truthful."

"Then just go to the bathroom when Thomas delivers the drink."

Silver sighed. "Alright. I really hope that's a business dinner. It'll crush Blaze if Sonic's cheating on her."

"I know..." Malique said as Thomas came back with his Beer flight and Silver's sweet tea.

"There you go gentlemen. Are you two ready to order or would you like more time?"

"I think we're ready," The older hedgehog said, leaning back against the booth. "Lemme get the Shrimp Tortellini."

"Alright. And for you, Sir?" Thomas asked once again, looking at Silver. "Can I get a burger with regular fries?"

"You certainly can. How would you like your burger cooked?"

"Medium."

"And what would you like on it?"

"Cheddar chese, bacon, lettuce, onions, and a tomato."

"Alright. Anything else for you gentlemen? Would you like some bread while you wait? Or a salad?"

"Uh, yeah. Can we get some bread?" Silver asked as his brother scoffed.

"Along with some bread, can I get that young lady at the table over there a refill of whatever she's drinking?" Malique asked.

"Certainly. I'll be back shortly," Thomas said before leaving the room again.

"So, why didn't you go to Sonic and Blaze's wedding?" Silver asked, attempting to make small conversation with his irritated brother.

"I was sick."

"What'd you have? Asshole fever?"

"No dickhead. Unlike you, I had a legitimate reason for not showing up. I had a stomach virus."

"Hey, I left for a good reason," Silver said, pointing a finger at his brother.

"Oh, whatever. You left because you were in love with her. You could've said that you objected."

"I didn't want to. She seemed happy with Sonic."

The older hedgehog sighed and shook his head. "Maybe one day you'll realize that how someone seems and how someone actually feels are two _totally_ different things."

"Whatever."

"I personally don't see why you left Angel Island. You had a good job and a better place to live. And refrigerator full of food."

"I lived with Haqq. Half of that stuff was his."

"Regardless, you still had more there and then than you do here and now."

"You're right. But I came back because I love Blaze."

"But she's married Silver. _Married_. Mar. Ried. Bound to one man for eternity. Why waste your time in coming back?"

"Because I wanted to be near her even though I couldn't be with her."

"You're sick. You're really mentally sick and you should see a doctor because what you just said makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

"Whatever. It makes sense to me, and that's all that matters. I'm not gonna conform my actions to fit into your judgement box."

"Suit yourself. You'd better dip. Thomas just came in with our bread and the chick's tea."

Silver nodded before getting up and quickly making his way out of the room.

"Ma'am, this is from the gentlemen in the booth over there," Thomas said, pointing at Malique while setting the drink in front of Amy. He then delivered the bread to Malique and left the room again.

Sonic scowled deeply before saying, "I'll handle this." The speedster then got up and angrily walked over to Malique, who was texting. "Fuck is your problem?"

Malique looked up from his phone. "Excuse me?"

"You see I'm on a date. Why the fuck are you gonna flirt with her by giving her a drink? You crazy or something?"

"It's not that serious. Check your attitude and get off my dick."

"Those are fighting words. You wanna go right here?"

"I just said it's not that serious, and I'm not about to fight you in a restaurant so I can get arrested. Quit acting like a bitch and take your hype ass back to your table."

"Asshole," Sonic said before walking back to Amy and sitting across from her.

A chuckle escaped Malique as Silver came back into the room and took his seat. "So?"

"He tried to fight me. So either he's on a date with his mistress, or he's handling some serious business. I think Imma go with the first option."

"Damn. How am I gonna break this to Blaze?"

"Carefully. Duh."

Silver gave an irritated sigh. "Seriously, how are you this much of a dick and you have a career working with people?"

"Because it's selective. I'm only a dick to the people who know me."

"Whatever. Anyway, I'm serious. I don't know how to tell Blaze that Sonic is having an affair. And if you say something else smart, you'll have a face full of glass, ice, and tea," Silver said as his brother chuckled.

 _(With Silver and Malique, approx. 6:30 PM)_

"Silver, I know you said you were gonna think on this while you ate, but you've done a lot more thinking than eating," Malique said, tapping his brother's plate with his fork.

Silver sighed "I know. But I can't eat and think about something this serious. If I tell Blaze about Sonic's infidelity, then she'll fall apart. I don't want that to happen to my best friend."

"Well would you rather have her find out later and you have to carry the guilt of knowing but not telling her for the rest of your life?"

"No..."

"Then I think it's clear what choice you need to make."

"You're right. Thanks for actually being helpful for once."

"So, are you gonna eat anymore?"

"Nah. I might just box this and take it home."

"Cool. Here comes our server," Malique said as Thomas walked up with a to go box.

"I couldn't help but notice that you lost your appetite, so I brought you a box," Thomas said, handing the box to Silver.

"Thank you. Can we get the check too?"

"Can _I_ get the check too. You ain't paying for nothing." Malique interjected, causing Thomas to laugh.

"Of course. I'll be right back."

Thomas then left, returning shortly with a bill and a pen.

Malique then payed cash for the meal and tipped the server before he and Silver exited the restaurant and got into the car.

"Malique?"

"What?"

"Can we just go ahead and tell Blaze about Sonic since you gotta drive by her house to take me home?"

" _We?_ "

"Yeah. We."

"You're her best friend. Why can't you tell her by yourself?"

"I need moral support."

"You _need_ to grow a pair, but fine. Whatever."

"If I choke up, which I probably will, then you'll have to tell her."

"Alright. Anything else? Do I need to ring the doorbell too?"

Silver shot his brother a hard glare, making him chuckle.

"Guess not."

The two then rode in silence the whole way to Blaze's home before Malique parked the car on the street and he and Silver got out. Silver led his brother up the driveway and to the front door, where he rang the doorbell.

The front door was promptly opened by Blaze, who was accompanied by her son, and she appeared slightly confused. "Malique, Silver. What brings you by?"

"Um..." Malique said, pointing at Shift.

Blaze turned around and motioned for Shift to go into the house before she stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her. What is it?"

Silver swallowed hard. "Um...Blaze...uh..."

"Sonic's cheating on you," Malique said, finishing his brother's sentence.

 _ **A/N: I do not talk. I am just a writer.**_


	4. Heartbreak

**_A/N: "I can't believe it." - T. Pain "Can't Believe It"_**

 ** _I do not talk. I am just a writer._**

 _Chapter Four: Heartbreak_

 _(With Blaze, Silver, and Malique, approx. 6:45 PM)_

"What?" Blaze said, looking at the two hedgehogs in front of her.

"Sonic's cheating on you," Malique repeated, crossing his arms.

"Malique, if this is some sort of sick joke..."

"It's not a joke," Silver said, speaking up to defend his brother.

"It's really not. I mean, I know I'm an asshole, but I mean, come on. I'm not that sinister," The older hedgehog said, sounding slightly offended.

"Alright, if it's not a joke, then what brought you to the conclusion that Sonic's having an affair?"

"Silver and I were at Graffiti's and we saw him there with some girl. At first we thought that it could've been a business dinner, so I ordered the girl a drink to test our theory. After the drink was delivered to her, Sonic came over and tried to fight me."

"So, you're serious?" Blaze asked, her tone changing from irritated to timid.

"Unfortunately," Silver said, nodding.

A single tear then fell down the feline's cheek before a barely audible, "Oh no," slipped out.

Then, more tears began to spill from her eyes, resembling a small waterfall. Silver frowned and opened his arms, offering her a hug, which Blaze eagerly accepted.

The feline nearly jumped into his arms, burying her face in his chest and silently crying. No words were exchanged, and for a moment, the only sounds on the porch were the quiet whimpers and sniffles of Blaze.

Then, a short while later, a knock was heard, causing Silver and Malique to look over at the door. "It's Shift," Silver whispered as he lightly swayed back and forth in an effort to comfort the feline in his arms.

"The fuck is Shift?" The older hedgehog asked, a confused look on his face.

"Her son. You idiot," The younger hedgehog responded, scowling.

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say that? You said the boy's name like I know who he is..." Malique said before going into the house and closing the door behind him.

Shift looked up at him, taking a step back and sticking his hands in his pockets. "Um...sir..."

"My name's Malique."

"Mr. Malique?"

"Yes Little Man?"

"What's wrong with my mommy? I hear her crying," The hedgecat said, pointing at the door.

"Well Shift, your mom is crying because she's sad."

"Why's she sad?"

"That, I can't tell you. You're too young to understand."

"I'm not too young. I'm almost seven!"

"See, way too young. Maybe when you're seventeen, your mom will tell you and you'll understand."

Shift frowned slightly. "Aw, okay."

Malique then squated to get down on the child's level. "But, you can tell her something when she comes back in that would make her laugh."

"Really, I can?"

The hedgehog nodded and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Alright, so when she comes in..."

 _(Meanwhile, with Silver and Blaze)_

"It's okay Blaze. Let it all out," Silver said softly to the feline who had went from silently crying to the hard, heavy, shoulder shaking sobbing.

A muffled squeak came from Blaze before she tightened her grip on Silver.

"What'd you say?"

"What did I do?" Blaze asked, taking her head out of Silver's chest to look up at him. "What did I ever do to him to warrant him doing this to me? What did I do?"

The hedgehog looked down into his feline friend's beautiful, but tear filled eyes and quietly said, "You didn't do anything. But no one deserves to have this happen to them; no one deserves to be put into this much pain."

"I...I can't believe it..." Blaze mumbled before burying her face back into Silver's chest and continuing to sob.

 _I can. Sonic's always been a stud, and you deserve so much more, so much better than a stud. You deserve a real man, not just a walking dick that compliments you every once in a while and buys you nice things. You deserve someone who really understands you instead of pretending and that loves you for all of who you are,_ Silver thought. That was what he wanted to say. But he knew that he couldn't, because sometimes what you want to say isn't necessarily the best thing to say, at least, at the moment. So, Silver held off on speaking his mind for the time being and instead said, "I can't believe it either."

 _(With Malique and Shift, approx. 7:05 PM)_

"So, what was going on over here?" The hedgehog asked as he walked into the kitchen, looking at the table.

"Me and Daddy were playing Go Fish. You wanna play?" Shift asked, sitting in his seat in front of his discarded cards.

"Nah Little Man. I don't play kids card games," Malique said as he walked to the refrigerator, opening it and scanning its contents before grabbing a soda.

"Well what do you play?"

The hedgehog sat down in front of Sonic's pile of discarded cards and chuckled. "Real card games. Want me to teach you one?"

Shift nodded. "Yes please."

Malique gathered the cards on the table and began to shuffle them. "Alright then, I'm gonna teach you this game called Blackjack. It's real easy, so a kid your age shouldn't have a problem with it."

The hedgecat nodded. "How do you play?"

"The object of the game is to get twenty-one points with the least amount of cards possible. The game starts out with the dealer, which is me, shuffling the cards and then giving you two."

"Just two?"

"Yep, just two. Now, you can either have both cards face up, face down, or one face down and one face up..."

"What face up mean?"

"It means that you can see the number on the card. Because you're learning how to play, your cards with be face up."

The hedgehog then dealt Shift two cards, one being a nine and the other being a four.

"Each card has a number value. Cards that have the number two through ten are worth exactly what they say. For instance," Malique pointed at the nine in front of the hedgecat, "this is worth nine points because it has a nine on it. Understand?"

Shift nodded and pointed to the four in front of him. "So, this has four points?"

Malique nodded. "Yep. And any face card, which is a jack, queen, or king is worth ten points. And an ace can either be worth one point or eleven points depending on what you already have. Now, are you ready to play?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright. In order to determine how many points you have, you need to add up your cards. You have a nine and a four, how many points is that?"

Using his fingers to count, Shift said, "Thirteen?"

"Yes. Now, how many more do you need to get to twenty-one?"

"Um..." The hedgecat began before using his fingers again, "Eight?"

Malique nodded. "Now, you can either stay there or you can say 'Hit me'..."

"You're gonna hit me?!" Shift asked, his eyes growing wide.

"No, no. I'm not going to hit you. When you're playing Blackjack and you say 'Hit me' that means that you want another card," Malique said, trying to calm the near panicking hedgecat.

"Oh. Then hit me."

Another card was dealt out to Shift, this one happening to be a jack.

"Now how many do you have?"

"Twenty...three?"

"Yep." Malique nodded.

"So, what happens if I get more than twenty-one?"

"You bust, and if you bust, you lose."

"I lost?" The hedgecat asked, frowning.

"Yeah Little Man, but don't worry, you're still learning so that loss doesn't count."

"Can we play again?"

"Of course," The hedgehog said, gathering all of the cards and shuffling them again before dealing the child two cards, face up.

 _(With Silver and Blaze, approx. 7:35 PM)_

"Silver?" The feline mumbled, removing her head from the male's chest and looking up at him, her face still covered with tears.

"Yes?" He responded, using a thumb to wipe her tears away.

"Can you help me...collect myself so that I can go back inside? I don't want Shift to worry about me."

"Of course I will, although I think Malique has him pretty entertained. But too much exposure to Malique has serious side effects; such as unwanted sarcasm, sudden meanness, and a permanent scowl," Silver said, causing Blaze to chuckle.

"While both statements are true, I still wanna go inside and assure him that I'm okay, even though I'm far from it."

"Hey, you're okay. You're okay. You're not great, but you're okay. And, if you want, I can come over tomorrow and help you through this. Be your shoulder to cry on?"

"That'd be nice, thank you."

"Cool. What time?"

"Um..." Blaze tapped her chin, rocking back and forth on her heels, "Maybe around eleven? I should be up and about by then."

"What about Shift? Will he be here?"

"No, I'm about to text my father and ask if he minds keeping him for a day or two," The feline said, pulling out her phone.

"Can I go on inside and see what's going on with Malique and Shift?" Silver asked, using his shirt to dry the feline's eyes before edging towards the door.

"Yeah, go ahead. I'm right behind you."

The hedgehog walked into the house to see his brother and his crush's son sitting in the kitchen with cards. "What's up fellas. What are you playing?"

"Twenty-one," Malique said as he dealt out two face up cards to Shift.

"I thought it was Blackjack?" The hedgecat asked, looking confused.

"Same thing."

"Blackjack? He's six, why you teaching him a Vegas card game?" Silver asked as Blaze entered the house.

"Malique, you'd better not be teaching my son how to gamble," The feline said sternly, pointing at the older hedgehog.

"Relax. I'm only teaching him the card part of the game; I don't have poker chips to show him how to gamble with."

" _Malique_..."

"I'm kidding. He's too young to understand gambling."

"Why Blackjack though?" The younger hedgehog asked, leaning against the counter.

"Because all he knew how to play was Go Fish."

"Well, I mean, he is only six. We can't expect to know how to play spades or anything like that," Blaze said, causing Malique to give her an icy glare.

"Whatever."

"Does he even understand the game?" Silver asked.

"Yeah. Watch this," Malique said before shuffling and dealing out two cards to Shift, both of them being face cards.

"Hit me," The child said, causing Silver and Blaze to give him confused looks.

"You wanna hit with twenty?" The younger hedgehog asked?

Shift nodded before Malique handed him a card, which was an ace.

"Twenty-one," the hedgecat said, looking back at his mother and her friend.

"I told you he knew what he was doing."

"Well Shift, while that is impressive, I'm afraid you won't be able to play with Malique anymore tonight," Blaze said, patting her son's shoulder.

The hedgecat frowned, "Why?"

"Because he has to go home and you need to get ready to go to Grandpa's house."

"Can he come back later and teach me more games?"

The feline then looked towards the older hedgehog, who nodded his head in agreement. "He'll come back later on. Now you go get ready."

Shift nodded and ran off to his room to pack an overnight bag and Blaze motioned for the two hedgehogs to follow her to the front door.

"Sorry to be the relayer of bad news Blaze," Malique said as he finished his soda and walked to the front door.

"Yeah. We didn't mean to ruin your night," Silver added, following his brother.

"It's okay. I'm glad you told me, now I know what's going on with Sonic and why he was always home late."

"So, should I call or something whenever I come to see Shift?" The older hedgehog asked.

"Yeah. I mean, we'll be home, but we might not be awake or something of that nature."

"I see. Well, I'll see you later. Come on Silver."

The younger hedgehog then embraced Blaze in a tight hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. Call me tonight if you need anything. I love you, remember that." He then kissed the jewel centered in the feline's forehead and left the house, leaving Blaze slightly confused and blushing lightly.

The sound of her son walking up brought her out of her stupor and she turned to face him.

"Mommy?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"Can we take a vacation to the Hoover Dam?"

Blaze gave Shift a confused look. "Why on earth would you wanna go there?"

"Because I wanna tell some dam jokes, I wanna see the dam gift shop, and I wanna cross the dam bridge."

A smile crept its way onto Blaze's face before she began to laugh uncontrollably, falling onto her knees.

"Just because you said that, yes we can go to the Hoover Dam."

 ** _A/N: I apologize for the long update_**


	5. Out

_**A/N: "I'm giving you ten seconds to go." – Jasmine "10 Seconds"**_

" _ **I'm just saying you can do better." –Drake "Marvin's Room"**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_

 _Chapter Five: Out_

 _(With Blaze, approx. 9:15 PM)_

Blaze sat on her bed, absolutely silent as she waited on the man she called her husband to return from his "work". She had packed Shift a two-day bag and dropped him off at her father's house for the weekend, not wanting him to be a witness to her confronting Sonic about his infidelity. She thought that the confrontation would be more emotional, but now that her heartbreak was gone and replaced with anger, she now believes that the confrontation will be more painful (for him) than anything. The reason being is that when Silver and Malique had informed her of Sonic's activities outside of work and home, her heart didn't break. Her heart did not cleave in two.

Her heart shattered.

The very foundations of her heart crumbled, bringing the rest with it; and, while crying incessantly was the prominent event that occurred at the moment, rendered her absolutely heartless. And a heartless feline is a terrible thing.

All felines are sly, cunning, clever, and sneaky. But a heartless feline is sinister and sadistic. Purely evil. A heartless feline could take a life without second thought nor a care in the world.

But while Blaze was heartless for the moment, she was not stupid. She wouldn't do anything to Sonic that would land her in enough trouble to get her son taken away from her, nor put her behind bars. She would simply just wait until he got home, and then question him.

Her ear twitched at the sound of a key turning the lock in the front door, causing an evil smirk to creep across her face. She stood, making her way out of the bedroom to the living room, just in time to see Sonic come through the door. The faint, yet unmistakable, smell of sex hit her nose; along with a more prominent odor of sweat, a mixture of his and someone else's she didn't recognize.

Anger rose within her as she gazed at Sonic, who gave her his usual cocky smirk. "What's up Babe?"

The feline gave her husband a cold glare. "Where've you been?"

Sonic appeared to be taken aback by his wife's question, and he rose a brow before calmly stating his response. "I was at work Baby. I told you that before I left this afternoon."

"And why'd you have to go back to work again?"

"I told you; Bark is still under the weather and Wave needed me to come in and pick up his slack."

Blaze stood and walked over to the speedster, stopping in front of him. "You smell like you just ran a mile through a Bath and Body Works store."

"Oh, yeah, the A/C in the office broke, so I kinda sweated because that's how the body cools itself and the late afternoon shift has a lot of women working and, you know women like to smell good going to work."

"Yes, I know how the body works Sonic. I was an RN before we got married; and yes, I know that we women do enjoy smelling good when we go to work. But you don't smell like a mixture of perfume, you smell like one specific fragrance. So, I'm going to ask again, where've you been?"

"So what I don't smell like an elaborate array of perfumes? That doesn't change the fact that I was at work."

By this point, Blaze was through with entertaining her husband's falsehoods. "Why the fuck are you lying?!" She yelled in his face, causing him to shrink back both in shock and in fear.

"Blaze what are you talking about? I'm not lying. I swear to God I been at work this entire time!"

"You lying bastard!"

"I'm not lying, I'm deadass."

"Sonic, just shut the fuck up if you're gonna lie. If you can't tell me the truth, then shut your mouth and don't say shit!"

"Baby, I'm gonna need for you to stop yelling at me and stop accusing me of lying to you. I love you, why would I lie about going to work?"

"Because you're a lying ass bitch."

"Blaze, enough. Calm down and recognize that I'm being a hundred percent honest with you." Sonic said, trying to approach the fuming feline he called his wife.

"Get the fuck away from me. I'm not recognizing anything except the fact that you're a fucking liar."

"Where are you getting this from? I've been completely honest to you since day one…"

"Oh my God, will you please just cut the fucking shit? I know you weren't at work, okay? I know you were out cheating. The evidence is all over you. You smell like sex, perfume, and the sweat of whoever you were fucking. You cheat. You fucking _cheat._ "

In hearing that his wife knew about his infidelity, all the color drained from Sonic's face. "Baby…" he muttered, moving closer to her to wrap his arms around her.

However, Blaze was far past listening to anything that he had to say. As soon as he was close enough, she drew back and kicked him in his groin, causing him to fall to his knees. She then walked into the bedroom and pulled out two suitcases, dragging them to the front door. "Since you wanna stick your dick in her, you can go and _live_ with her. Take all your shit, and get the fuck out," she said, opening the front door and kicking the two suitcases out onto the porch.

"Seriously? You can't kick me outta my own house."

"Yes the fuck I can and that's what I'm doing," Blaze said as she reached into her husband's back pocket and got his key ring, taking off the house key and then pitching his car keys out of the door.

"What the - ? Why would you throw my shit outside? What the fuck is wrong with you?" The speedster asked as he slowly got up and made his way outside to get his key; but as soon as he was out of the door, it was slammed and locked behind him. He quickly turned around, banging on the door. "Blaze, you're not about to do this childish shit. Open the door."

The feline didn't respond, she just merely moved a chair in front of the door so that Sonic couldn't force his way back into the house, which is exactly what he was attempting.

He had begun kicking at the door, an action he kept at for a quarter of an hour before he gave a frustrated huff and yelled "Fine, be that way! Kick me out my own fucking house. I'll just call a locksmith tomorrow and get another key."

Blaze gave an irritated sigh before leaving the living room and going into the bedroom. She really didn't want to have to get the locks changed tomorrow.

 _(With Silver and Rodrick, approx. 10:00 AM)_

"Looks like someone got evicted last night," Rodrick said to his brother as he pulled up on the street beside Blaze's home.

"What you say that for?" Silver asked before looking over at his best friend's house.

"It's a locksmith here."

"Damn. She must've kicked Sonic out and he didn't take it really well."

The older hedgehog cleared his throat. "Yeah I guess so. Look bro, as much as I'd love to sit here and chat with you about what could've possibly went down here last night, I gotta go to work. I might catch you and Malique later on tonight."

Silver nodded before thanking his brother for dropping him off and saying goodbye to him before getting out of the car and walking to the house. "Excuse me. My friend is expecting me. Mind if I go in?" He asked the locksmith, who was busily working on the front door.

The man merely smiled and stepped aside, allowing for the hedgehog to enter the house.

"Hey Blaze, I'm here," he called as he strode into the living room, looking around for the feline.

"Sweet, I'm back in Shift's room," she responded, and soon heard Silver's footsteps coming down the hall. "It's the room on the left."

The hedgehog entered the room and leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest as he watched his friend crawl under her son's bed. "So, what's up?"

"Cleaning this boy's room."

"That's not what I meant by that. And he doesn't clean his own room?"

"Oh no, he does. I just sent him away this weekend to my father's house before he had the chance. He usually cleans his room on Saturdays, but this one is an exception. I'm doing him a favor. And what did you mean?" The feline questioned, emerging from under the bed, along with several toys and many pairs of shoes.

"I meant what's up as in why is there a locksmith outside? What happened last night?"

"I kicked him out."

"Well no shit, I know you kicked him out. I figured _that_ much. But why the locksmith?"

"Because he didn't wanna voluntarily leave. He threw a fit and was banging on the door like Fred Flintstone, and then he tried to kick the door down. After he realized that there was no way he was getting back inside, he yelled about how he was just gonna call a locksmith and get another key, so I decided to stop that from happening."

Silver moved from his position on the wall and began to help pick up Shift's toys. "Damn. How'd you even lock him out the house?"

"I took a cheap shot to his groin and then threw all his shit outside, including his car keys. Then when he hobbled outside, I shut the door behind him and locked it."

"You hit him in the balls?"

"Could you blame me? He lied about his affair. He came home smelling like he just ran a mile through a bath and body works and then walked into a brothel, and he tried to tell me that he was sweaty because the A/C unit at the office broke and that the women in the office like to lay the perfume on a little heavy. I mean, come on, I'm not dumb. Then when I told him he was a fucking liar, he _kept_ lying."

Anger rose inside of Silver and he set down Shift's action figure before balling his hands into tight fists. "That low down lying ass bastard."

"Hey, you watch your mouth." Blaze, said, walking over to the hedgehog and pointing a finger in his face.

Silver's expression switched from angered to confused. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You don't call him that. Only I can call him that, and don't ever let me catch you calling him out of his name again."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Silver rapidly said before taking a second to make sure he's correctly analyzing the situation. "You're defending him? This son of a bitch has been lying to you and sleeping with some chick for God knows how long, and you wanna bitch _me_ out for saying how the fuck _I_ feel? What the hell?"

The feline gave an irritated sigh. "First of all, Sonic is _my_ husband, so that gives me and only me the right to call him out of his name. I know what the he did, and I'm _not_ defending him. I'm telling you that you have no right to call him out of his name. Second of all, no one is bitching you out, but if you want I can go ahead and give you a long overdue bitch-out about not coming to my wedding."

"I told you why I didn't come to your wedding."

"Okay, so what you love me? So what you couldn't sit and watch me pledge my life to someone you think I didn't deserve? Why should something that bothered _you_ prevent you from being able to share the most important day of _my_ life? Did you not think that I was crushed when I walked down the aisle and saw every face except for the face of my best friend looking back at me?"

"'So what I love you? So what I didn't wanna watch'…Blaze do you fucking hear yourself? I explained to you why I couldn't come to your wedding and if you wanna be conceited and ignorant and not understand my reasons for dipping out of town, then be that way. I'm done with this subject so drop it. I'm here now, and I'm not going nowhere so just leave it at that."

Halfway through Silver's rebuttal of her argument, Blaze's ears sank. "Conceited? _Ignorant?_ " She asked, sending her friend a hurt look.

Suddenly, the hedgehog realized what he had said. He allowed for his temper to flare and for words he would never say directly to Blaze to escape his mouth. He shook his head quickly. "Blaze, I didn't mean that…"

"Yeah you did. You mean exactly what you said. You think I'm selfish and stupid, and since you think that, you can leave."

"C'mon Blaze, don't be like that…"

"Why are you still standing here?"

Silver tried to hug the feline and explain that he didn't mean to insult her, but he was stopped by her hand pushing his head roughly.

"Goodbye, Silver. Leave. Since you wanna insult me you can get the fuck out."

Defeated, silver gave a lamenting sigh before shuffling out of the room and back down the hallway towards the front door, the locksmith opening it for him on his way out.

 _ **A/N: I apologize for the long update. Thank you for taking time to read this chapter, and please leave a review, but remember: you can leave flames like propane but none of you can gas me; meaning that you can insult and slander me and/or this story, but you will not deter me from writing it.**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_


	6. Expression

_**A/N: "All you gotta do is, man, hold her where you want her. Squeeze her, don't tease her, never leave her." – Otis Redding "Try a Little Tenderness"**_

" _ **If you let me, here's what I'll do: I'll take care of you." – Rihanna in Drake's "Take Care"**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_

 _Chapter Six: Expressing_

 _(With Silver, approx. 11 AM)_

The hedgehog cast a tortured glance at the house of his best friend before trudging off of the porch and down the driveway, heading towards the curb; he was still in disbelief that Blaze had kicked him out over a petty argument. He had gotten riled up and had let his emotions speak for him, rather than keeping his cool and letting the subject drop itself. Now he was stuck an hour's walk away from his apartment; and he knew for a fact that Blaze was definitely not going to give him a ride home. Giving a defeated sigh, he pulled out his smartphone and scrolled through his contacts, selecting a number and then putting the phone to his ear.

Not soon after he dialed the number did a receptionist pick up. "Station Square Attorneys at Law, how may I help you?" A female voice asked in a professional tone.

"May I speak to Malique the Hedgehog?"

"You may, just hold on one second."

Soon the other end of the line was filled with soothing classical music as Silver patiently waited on the receptionist to transfer his call.

Then, the music stopped and in a very professional tone, Malique stated, "This is Malique."

"'Lique, you busy?"

An irritated sigh escaped the older hedgehog and the professional tone of his voice was replaced with his usual irritation. "I'm at work, what do you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked."

"What do you want?"

"Okay so, you know how Rod was supposed to drop me off at Blaze's house? And how I was supposed to be like her shoulder to cry on for the day?"

"Yeah."

"So, when I got here, Blaze and I sort of got into a little argument and she kicked me out."

"An argument, huh? What'd you say?"

"Nothing. She was bitching at me for not coming to her wedding and saying that my reasons for leaving town weren't important and I told her that if she wanted to be conceited and ignorant…"

"You dumbass," Malique interrupted in a hushed tone so that no one else would be able to hear the profanity that was escaping his mouth. "You never, _ever_ , part your lips to call a woman anything but her name or to compliment her. And this is why you called me, to tell me about your woman troubles?"

"No, I called to ask if you could maybe take me home."

"What part of 'I'm at work' do you not understand?"

"Isn't your lunch break in, like, thirty minutes?"

"You expect me to sacrifice my lunch break to take drive all the way across town to Blaze's house, pick you up, and take you back across town to your apartment?"

"Yeah…"

"Hell no."

"Please Malique? My apartment is over an hour's walk from here."

The older hedgehog sighed before caving. "Fine. If you walk to the office, I'll take you home."

Silver rose a fist in victory before thanking his brother and then hanging up, walking towards downtown Station Square.

 _(Meanwhile, with Blaze)_

 _Conceited? Ignorant?_

Did Silver really think that?

Was her wanting to see him amongst the family and friends in the crowd at her wedding six years ago making her conceited? Was wanting to see her best friend happy for her selfish? Was she considered ignorant for not being able to understand his reason for disappearing form her life and then reappearing six years later?

Who wouldn't want their best friend to be at their wedding? Who wouldn't feel destroyed when they walked down the aisle and found that the seat reserved for their best friend was the only empty seat in the building? Who wouldn't feel betrayed to know that the person that had stuck with them through thick and thin, the person that they could rely on, the person that was always supposed to have their back had walked right out of their life as if they could care less? And who wouldn't be absolutely baffled when they show up out of the blue and explain that they left because they were in love with you.

If not finding the logic in Silver's explanation of why he left town and never came to her wedding was considered conceited and ignorant, then Blaze was by all means the most selfish and stupid being on the planet. If…

The ringing of a cell phone drew the feline out of her deep thoughts and she took a seat on her son's bed before checking the caller ID, which read "Daddy".

"Hey," She answered, crossing her arms over her bosom and her legs over one another.

"Hey Sweetie. Your son misses you," Inferno said, his voice sounding tired for it to only be eleven in the morning.

This caused Blaze to chuckle. Shift could never be away from her for an extended period of time without getting homesick. "Really now?"

"Yep. Every five minutes I'm hearing 'I miss mommy' or 'I wanna go home'. It was cute the first few times, but now it's irritating. I don't think I could put up with it for another day. You mind if I bring him home early?"

"No, I don't mind. I'm surprised he made it this long, I never really expected for him to stay the entire weekend."

"Okay, good. I can tell him to get ready to go home and maybe he'll stop whining." Inferno sighed. "I wanna talk to you about why you sent him here too. What's going on at your house to where you had to bring Shift here for the weekend?"

Blaze frowned before shaking her head, her anger for Silver being replaced with her heartbreak for Sonic. "Is Shift anywhere around?"

"No, he's in the back playing his game. Why, what is it?"

"Daddy, I found out last night that Sonic was cheating on me. I didn't want Shift to be home when I confronted him about it."

"Wait, wait, wait, _what_?"

"Sonic is having an affair. I don't know how long it's been going on. I just found out about it last night."

"How'd you find out?"

"Silver and Malique told me. At first I didn't believe them, because Silver was stammering and Malique was the one who actually told me; but then when they gave me the details, I started to put the pieces together. They said that he was at Graffiti's with some girl and they ordered a drink for the girl and Sonic came over ready to fight them."

"Okay, okay, okay Blaze, don't cry. Calm down. I'll be over there in a few, okay?"

The feline reached a hand up to her face, noticing that her cheek was wet. When had she started crying? Hurriedly wiping her eyes, she managed to choke out an "Okay" before hanging up the phone.

Blaze was not one to cry. In fact, she rarely cried. Something absolutely devastating had to happen in order to get her to shed a tear. Had finding out about Sonic's affair really cut her that deep to where she was crying without even noticing? Was it that much of a blow to her well-being? Could it have hurt her that bad?

 _(With Silver, approx. noon)_

It was hot. No, hot was an understatement. It was _roasting_. Heat waves shimmered on the horizon, the grass wilted and turned brown, even the insects ceased to fly around due to the extreme heat. And yet, there was Silver, sitting out in the sun in jeans.

 _C'mon Malique, hurry up. It's hot as hell,_ Silver thought as he stood near his brother's car and eyed the back entrance of the building, somewhat impatiently awaiting the appearance of his brother.

After what seemed like an eternity, Malique emerged from the building in his usual suit and tie and headed for his car, shaking his head at his brother. "It's hot. Why do you have on jeans?"

"I didn't expect to be outside much today."

The older hedgehog gave and understanding nod as he unlocked his car, letting his brother get in and away from the harsh glare of the sun. Then, as he got into the driver's side, he drew back and gave Silver a hard slap to the back of his head.

Silver winced and reached up to the spot where his brother hit him, covering it with both hands before glaring daggers at the older hedgehog. "What the hell man?!"

"Don't give me that. You deserve it for making me miss my lunch and getting kicked out of Blaze's house. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about? You agreed to take me home."

Malique sighed before starting his car and pulling out of his parking space. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about what you said to Blaze that got you kicked out? Why would you say something like that to her, especially when she's going through this shit with Sonic?"

"Well, she _was_ being conceited and kinda ignorant for downplaying and not understanding my reasons for dipping out…"

" _I_ don't understand your reasons for dipping out. If you really truly love her like you say you do, why in the hell did you scoot out of her life for six years?"

"I told you: I couldn't stand to see her stand at the altar and pledge her life to someone that she didn't deserve. I could barely contain myself at her wedding rehearsal, why would I torture myself at her actual wedding?"

"Because you're her best friend. You're the only person other than her husband that she can trust with her life. You're supposed to have her back."

"I do have her back. I've always had her back…"

"Stop lying. You didn't have her back when you moved to Angel Island, and don't say you did because it's impossible to have someone's back if you don't speak to them. Silver, she trusted you. She trusted that you would be there to share the biggest moment of her life with her because she thought that you cared about her; so you running off without so much as saying goodbye on the biggest day of her life tells her that you couldn't give two fucks about her. Don't you think that had to hurt her? Don't you think that it gashed her heart to not see you at her wedding? And you then pop up out of nowhere and tell her that you love her, like it wouldn't confuse the shit outta her.

"You left without saying a damn thing, you just walked right outta her life like she didn't matter, and you didn't even as much as text her for six years. Do you know how long that is? That's over two thousand days without hearing from someone that's supposed to always have your back, that's supposed to care about you, and that's supposed to be there for you. So all of this is running through her head and you expect her to be fine with you just showing up and saying that you love her? How can she believe you when you hurt her like this? You don't do that to the people you love man. You don't just disappear like that, when they need you the most. And, after all of this that you put her through, she is still willing to talk to you and be friends with you like old times. But _she's_ the conceited and stupid one? Boy, if I wasn't driving I'd hit you in your head again."

Silver was speechless. How could he counter what his brother had just told him? He _did_ walk out of Blaze's life when she needed him the most, he _did_ go six years without even attempting to speak to her, and he _did_ come out of nowhere and throw his feelings onto her, expecting her to be okay with it. And it seemed like she was. It seemed like she was trying to pick up right where they had left off; she had introduced him to her son, she spent an entire day with him, she hugged him, she talked with him, she laughed with him. She had done everything that a normal best friend would do, even though he had hurt her almost beyond repair. And he had the nerve, the _audacity_ to call her conceited and ignorant, when it was really him that was deserving of those insults. He was wrong. "You know what Malique," the younger hedgehog began, his gaze going out of the car's window. "You're right. I was wrong. I was wrong to walk out of her life because of my feelings for her. I was wrong to not speak to her for six years. I was wrong to just appear and tell her how I felt and expect her to be okay with it. And I was _dead_ wrong to call her conceited when I've been the one who was only thinking about myself. I mean, she's going through something traumatic, and she needs me there to help her through it, and I'm being a dick."

"You need to apologize, before you lose the only reason you came back to Station Square."

 _(Meanwhile, with Blaze)_

Blaze silently watched from her chair on the porch as her father pulled into the driveway, the tip of her tail impatiently twitching back and forth. She didn't want to discuss the previous night's situation with her dad because he had a tendency to lecture and a lecture was something that she didn't feel like hearing. She wanted someone that she could cry and vent to, not someone that was going to tell her what she needed to do. But she did _need_ someone to talk to, so she was willing to play the hand she was dealt and have this conversation with her father.

Shift was the first to get out of the car, running over to his mother and jumping into her lap. "Mommy, I missed you!" He exclaimed, nuzzling into his mother's neck.

Despite the anxiety running through her, Blaze gave a small smile and hugged her son. "Shift, it hasn't even been a whole day since you've seen me."

"I know, but I missed you."

Inferno cleared his throat as he walked up to the porch, carrying the young hedgecat's duffel bag. "Shift, do you mind going in and unpacking while I talk to your mom?"

Blaze nodded. "Yeah Sweetie, go unpack your stuff while I talk to Grandpa."

Shift nodded before sliding off of his mother's lap and going into the house while his grandfather took a seat next to Blaze. "So, is he having an affair or were your friends just pulling your leg?"

A sigh escaped Blaze. "He's having an affair. He came home last night smelling like sex and perfume."

"And you confronted him about it?"

She nodded.

"And?"

"I kicked him out and had the locks changed today so that he couldn't come back without my permission."

"So, where is he now?"

"With _her_."

Inferno nodded before placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "C'mon Blaze, stop trying to be tough. It's okay to cry, especially over something like this."

Blaze shook her head as if to say that she wouldn't cry, but the tears were already making their way down her face. "What am I gonna do?"

"Get a divorce."

"I knew you'd say that. But I don't think that I should."

"Why not? It's the ideal thing to do."

"I know that, but what about Shift?"

"He'll be fine. You were fine when your mother and I got divorced."

"Daddy, I was eighteen when you and mom got divorced. I was able to understand why you two got divorced. Shift is six; all this is gonna do is stress him out and immensely confuse him because he's way too young to understand something like this. I don't wanna do that to him."

Inferno sighed, resting his head in his hands. "You have a point, but let me ask you this: has Sonic came to you in any way, shape, or form to apologize for hurting you? Has he called you to tell you that he's sorry and that he's not with his mistress and that he's at a hotel instead?"

The younger feline shook her head. "No."

"Well then that should tell you something about Sonic in regards to his marriage. If you wanna stay in the relationship even though he's clearly not breaking things off with his sideline, then be my guest. I'm not gonna try and force you to do something that you don't feel you should do. But I will ask you to be honest with your son when he asks where his father is."

"What? Daddy, he's way too young to understand…"

"I know, but in the future, when he is old enough to understand, would you rather want him upset at you because you lied to him for years, or sympathetic because he knows what you went through was tough?"

"How could I possibly explain adultery to a six year old?"

"Dumb it down. Get on his level. Use words that he'll understand. But by all means, don't lie to the boy."

"But if I lie to him it would be for his own good."

"You know damn well that lies never work out for anyone's good. You tell your son the truth Blaze. He's being taught by you, Sonic, and his teacher that lying is bad. What would it look like for his own mother to lie to him?"

And with that final question, Inferno rose from his chair and kissed his daughter on the jewel centered in her forehead before setting Shift's duffel back down and walking towards his car, leaving Blaze on the porch.

It was a few seconds before Blaze was able to collect herself and go inside, bringing her son's bag with her. As she made her way down the hall into his room, she could hear him indulging in his usual playing activities. She entered the room to see the child holding a Tyrannosaurus Rex toy in one hand and what she guessed to be a Lego space ship in the other hand.

"Hi Mommy. Wanna help me play?" The hedgecat asked, looking up at his mother.

Blaze set the bag down and kneeled by his bed. "Sure. What can I do?"

Shift soon went to his toy box and pulled out a Barbie doll, giving it to his mother. "You can be her."

The feline gave her son a baffled expression. "Why do you have a Barbie doll? Where did you get that from?"

"The park. I found it under a bench."

Her confused expression soon turned to one of irritation as a sigh escaped her. "It was that time you went with your daddy wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"And he let you keep it?"

"Yes. He said 'Finders Keepers'."

"Next time you go to the park with your daddy, don't bring home a toy you found on the ground."

"Where is Daddy? I thought he was home on Saturdays."

"Your daddy is…gone. He's not coming home," Blaze said, figuring that her father was right about not lying to her son. Though it would've been a quick fix for the situation now, it would've caused problems in the future.

"Why?"

"Because I told him that he couldn't come back home."

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because your daddy did something that a married man isn't supposed to do."

"What was that?"

Blaze moved to where she was sitting in her son's bed and she lifted him up into her lap. "Okay Shift, when two people really love each other, they get married, and when you get married, you give each other rings." She then showed her son the rings on her finger to emphasize her point before continuing. "You also make promises to always love each other no matter what happens and to only keep yourselves for each other; which means that you don't fall in love and date other people. Well, your daddy did that, and it made me really sad and really mad at him so I told him to go stay with the other person that he loves and not to come back home."

Shift tilted his head to the side. "Why did Daddy do that?"

"I…" Blaze began before shaking her head. And then the tears came, rushing out of her eyes like a burst dam and causing her to look away from her son. "I don't know." She managed to choke out.

The hedgecat frowned before sliding off of his mother's lap and running to the bathroom, getting her a handful of tissue to dry her eyes with. He watched as she took the tissue from him and began to wipe her eyes before clutching it to her chest, causing Shift to become more confused than he was earlier.

 _Why was she crying?_

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading and please don't hesitate to leave a review. But remember that you can leave flames like propane but none of you can gas me. Also, if you like this story, I recommend you checking out "Murder in the Name of Love"; it's Anti-Sonaze like this one.**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_


	7. What is Clemency?

_**A/N: "We are alone, I'm just the only one to figure out." – Childish Gambino "Be Alone"**_

" _ **I'm gonna swallow my pride, say 'I'm sorry', no pointing fingers, the blame is on me." – Boyz II Men "On Bended Knee."**_

 _ **This chapter conveys the emotions of the main characters, which at this point happen to be slightly chaotic. So if at any point, you feel confused and don't seem to follow what's going on; good. I intended for that to happen**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_

 _Chapter 7: What is Clemency?_

 _(With Silver, approx. 9:00 PM)_

"Malique, _please_ …"

"Look Silver, I told you no," The hedgehog at the other end of the line whispered harshly, as he didn't wish to disturb those working around him, but at the same time he wanted to get his point across to his brother. "I can't take you to Blaze's house. I _need_ to spend as much time on this case as possible if I want to win it and get my client acquitted. Besides, I'm not gonna drive all the way across town and get you and take you to her house when all she's gonna do is slam the door in your face."

"She's not gonna do that." Silver refuted as he ambled over to his window and faintly lifted the blinds, stealing a look at the outdoors. Rain was pouring.

"It's been three weeks since she kicked you out and she hasn't even made an effort to contact you. As a matter of fact, when I went to see Shift a few days ago, she specifically asked me not to bring you with me; so that means she's still pissed at you."

The younger hedgehog gave a dejected sigh. "It tears me apart every day that I don't talk to her…"

"That's bullshit, considering that you didn't speak to her for an entirety of six years. Now all of a sudden it hurts you to go three weeks without talking to her?" Malique derided. "You're so full of shit…"

"Okay, whatever Malique you can't give me a ride and that's cool. But don't take a jab at my personality like that. And for your information, it _did_ tear me apart to not speak to her when I was on Angel Island, but even if I did explain that, you wouldn't even try to understand it," Silver shot back with bitterness decorating his tone. His brother's comment had incensed him enough to hang up

How dare Malique say something like that to him? Yes, Silver knew in his mind and heart that he was wrong for just leaving town without even as much as saying goodbye to his best friend. Yes he was wrong for not speaking to her for six years. Yes he was wrong for calling her ignorant and conceited; but this did not give Malique the right to say something like that to him. Not speaking to Blaze for six years had taken its toll on him, in a way that he could never get his brother to understand.

Silver brought his gaze back to the window, watching the relentless precipitation pepper the ground outside. It had been raining off and on the entire day, and the heavy rain had been going on for the last hour. He _needed_ to get to Blaze's house so that he could apologize to her, but neither one of his brothers was able to take him; and he didn't want to walk the hour to her house in the _torrential_ downpour. But, if that was the only way for Silver to actually talk to Blaze in order to say what he needed to say, then so be it.

 _(With Blaze, approx. 10:00 PM)_

Alone.

Many people knew of the word. Many people knew of its connotation. But very few people knew what it meant in authenticity. Blaze happened to be one of those few people.

"Alone" in text meant to be without company, to be by yourself or on your own. But "alone" in reality was not so cut and dry. In authenticity alone was torturous and painful. In representativeness "alone" was more than just an adjective. Alone was stressful, smothering, and terrifying. "Alone" took vibrancy and hope from people and left them hollow and empty. The word alone was a thief, it robbed people of their personalities and left them with sorrow. And Blaze had no one to rid her of this thief. There was no one she could turn to.

Well, actually, there _were_ people that she could turn to, but none of them would give her the consolidation that she wanted. Her father was a nice shoulder to cry on, but he didn't know how to just listen; he was always giving his opinion or adding his input. Her mother knew how to just listen, but she was on Angel Island and wouldn't be able to offer her the embrace that she wanted. Her son, while holding him in her arms did make her feel better, he wasn't old enough to understand what she was going through, and his constant questioning wouldn't enable him to be able to just listen. Besides, Shift being at her father's house for the night wouldn't allow for her to use him for consolation. She also had Malique as an option, but after thinking about it, she ruled him out. While he was a good friend to her and a good listener, he was not the type of person to just hold her in his arms. It wasn't in his personality to just hold someone.

The only person that could really do what she wanted them to do was Silver. He was the perfect shoulder to cry on, he had always been the perfect shoulder to cry on. Whenever there was something wrong with Blaze, she knew that she could run to him and get immediate relief in feeling his strong arms encircling her. He would never say a word, he would just listen to what she had to say, and only open his mouth to speak consoling phrases to her. He never offered any type of advice or input, he never questioned her, he encouraged her to express her emotions, and he always told her that everything was okay. Silver was the only person that could make her feel better because as her best friend, he understood her, even more so than her own family.

But Blaze was not on good terms with him at the moment. His calling her conceited and ignorant nearly a month ago had cause her to push him away, which took nearly all of her strength to do. Not a single day went by where she didn't consider responding to his frequent text messaging or answering his panicked calls; but every time she thought about communicating with him, the events from that day would replay in her mind and cause her to become angry all over again.

Who was he to call her conceited? And who was he to call her ignorant? If anything, _he_ was the one that was selfish and injudicious. He was only thinking of his own well-being when he left for Angel Island, saying that he couldn't bear to watch Blaze pledge her life to Sonic because he thought that he didn't deserve her. He wasn't thinking about how Blaze would feel if he just up and left without saying goodbye. He wasn't thinking about how he was theoretically stabbing Blaze in the back. All he was thinking about was how he felt, yet he had the nerve to call Blaze conceited. He had the audacity to call her ignorant, even though his reason for leaving made absolutely no sense whatsoever. If he loved her like he claimed to, then he would have at least spoken to her in the six years that they were apart. He would've told her that he was leaving so that he could say goodbye to her. If he really loved her, he wouldn't have hurt her the way that he did.

At first, she tried to look past all the emotional damage he had caused her, and she had succeeded. She invited him into her home, she introduced him to her son, she spent an entire day with him, and she ran to his arms when she found out about Sonic's unfaithfulness. It was like they had never been apart at all.

But that success was short-lived.

Still emotionally unstable from the night she evicted her husband, Blaze directed her anger at Sonic towards Silver in the form betrayal for him not coming to her wedding. She was wrong, this she knew, but she never expected for him to retaliate. Whenever she got mad, he always dropped whatever subject they were discussing; but this time he became angered as well and told her exactly how he felt that she was acting.

And it hurt.

It hurt like a _bitch_.

 _(With Silver, approx. 10:15 PM)_

This was by far the hardest thing that he had ever done in his life. Had he walked in the rain before? Sure he had. Had he walked in the cold before? Of course. Had he walked in the cold rain before? Definitely.

What he had _not_ done before was walk for over an hour in a freezing cold early March downpour in the middle of the night.

He had stepped in several large puddles, causing water to seep into his shoes and making his feet become wet and cold. Cars had whizzed past him, throwing cold water onto him and causing his clothes to stick to his body. The wind added to this effect, making him shiver every time it whipped past him. His umbrella had been constantly blown inside-out, and had broken as a result of this. He had shin splints as a result of trying to power walk such a long distance in boots.

But in his mind, it was worth it.

Now, standing on her porch, he took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell, his thoughts everywhere except for where he needed them to be.

 _She'll listen to my apology – right? She'll…she'll forgive me. She can't stay mad at me forever over two little words – right? I mean, it wasn't like I meant what I said. I was just – she'd made me so mad and I…I…oh who the fuck am I kidding? She's still pissed at me. She hasn't even bothered to text me back after three weeks. She's not over this…_

The sound of the door unlocking drew him out of his scattered mind and back to the world around him. His heart crept up into his throat as a mixture of dread and fear crawled up his spine. This was not how he expected to feel when he trekked over here. Something was amiss; there was foreign air all around this house. A foreboding feeling consumed him, giving him the impression that the rest of his life was tied to this very moment. Silver was beyond nervous.

He watched the front door open, seeming to move in slow motion as it revealed his friend, who had clearly not been expecting company. Blaze's hair was up in a lazy bun, and her outfit consisted of a wrinkled sports t-shirt that stopped mid-thigh and a pair of leggings. She had obviously not left the house at all today. Silver wondered briefly if she had gotten out of bed before this moment.

"What are you doing here?" The feline spat coldly, her eyes refusing to meet his.

Silver felt venom in her words and tried to balance it out with a smoother, more sincere tone. "I came to apologize…"

"I don't want your apology. I didn't ask for it."

Her words were so…monotonous. She sounded as though she could care less about what her friend had to say; and that gashed Silver's soul.

"I'm gonna apologize anyway…"

"What part of 'I don't want your apology' don't you understand?!" Blaze interrupted, her voice suddenly alive with a passionate rage. "If I wanted your apology, then I would've answered when you called me. I would've text you back. I don't want to hear what you have to say."

The feline refused to look at him, but Silver knew her well enough to know that her bright yellow eyes were packed with anger. "You need to though."

Had Blaze not been beyond livid right now, she would've been hurt by Silver's weak tone. His voice cracked slightly with every word he spoke. He didn't sound like a man that was nearing thirty years of age. He didn't sound like the confident hedgehog that she knew he was. He sounded feeble and afraid, like a boy that was being bullied while going through puberty. Her words were hurting him.

And she was glad. She wanted him to hurt, to feel unimportant in her life. She wanted him to feel betrayed. She wanted to hurt him like he had hurt her all those years ago.

"No I don't. I don't need your half-hearted attempt at trying to fix things. I don't need you trying to make things all better. I don't need your apology, and I don't need you."

A tightening feeling coursed through Silver's chest, taking his breath away momentarily. Did he hear her correctly? "That's…really how you feel?"

"That's really how I feel."

And suddenly, Silver's hurt turned into anger. He had spent over an hour of his time freezing his ass off in a near monsoon, walking all the way over here to apologize to her; only for her to be cold and heartless towards him. Oh, he was lit…

"Are you fucking _serious_?!" He roared, his sudden outburst startling the feline before him. Last time she checked, he rarely rose his voice. "I walked all the way over here in this cold ass fucking rain for you to treat me like a red-headed step child? I froze for a fucking hour only for you to be hateful towards me? I got _horrendous_ shin splints for you to treat me like you don't give a shit about me? To not even look me in my damn eyes? Fucking _really_?"

No longer furious with the hedgehog, Blaze brought her eyes up to meet the hedgehog's. It was then that she noticed his state. He was soaking wet, dripping water from his head to his feet. He was shivering violently. His eyes were bloodshot and had clear liquid spilling from them.

Her rage fell to a small discomfort as she stared at the hedgehog that she called her best friend, even though it was clear that she did not know who he was anymore. On the outside, he still appeared to be the same. He was still naïve, he still made jokes, and he was still comforting. But this Silver was different than the Silver that she knew because while the old Silver always kept a cap on his emotions, this one didn't hesitate to let someone know what he was feeling.

"Well? Are you gonna answer me? Or am I not worthy of your answer?" Silver spat, the feline's silence irritating him even more.

This time it was Blaze's turn to feel feeble and afraid. She felt bad for making Silver feel as though she was nothing to him, though he had done it to her. She felt bad for upsetting him, though he had did that to her as well. It was as though she was on the receiving end of her vengeance, which was something that always happened to her whenever she made attempts at getting someone back. "I'm sorry," she was finally able to mumble, no longer being able to meet his condescending glare. "I was just so upset that…"

"That you hurt me? That you rip my heart out and step on it by making me feel like nothing to you?"

"Yes. I wanted you to experience how I felt when you left six years ago. I wanted you to feel the hurt that I felt when I walked down the aisle and saw your empty chair. I wanted you to feel unimportant like I did when you left without bothering to say goodbye. I wanted you to feel like I didn't give a shit about you so you know how I felt the entire time you were on Angel Island and didn't talk to me at all." Now she was crying, her tears flowing like that of a river.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I wasn't there, I'm sorry I left without saying goodbye, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you! I'm sorry!"

"'Sorry' doesn't make it better Silver! 'Sorry' doesn't take back all the nights that I would secretly cry because I thought that I had lost my best friend. It doesn't fix anything…"

"Don't you think I know that?! Don't you think I know that sorry is like putting a Band-Aid over a cracked windshield? I know saying sorry doesn't fix anything, but it's a start. I'd rather apologize now and patch things up so that I can gradually fix things than just leave things weak and broken to create more of a problem. Blaze, I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I'll spend every day of my life trying to figure out how to heal the pain that I caused you. I know that me apologizing isn't gonna take away the hurt that you felt, but I don't want to leave a wound open and exposed to infection. I'm sorry that I called you stupid and selfish. It was wrong of me to do that, when all you had been doing was attempting to pick up where we left off.

"I wanted to go to your wedding. I wanted to see you kill it in your wedding dress. When I went with you and your mother to help you pick it out, I loved how you looked when you tried it on. You were _slaying_. You looked so beautiful. I wanted to see you _own_ the aisle in that dress. I wanted to be happy for you. But I couldn't. I couldn't stand to watch a girl that I loved more than anything in this world give her life to someone that wasn't me. So I left…"

"If you loved me like that then you wouldn't have left in the first place! If you really loved me more than anything in this world you would not have broken my heart on the biggest day of my life…"

"What was I supposed to do, huh?! What the fuck was I supposed to do? Sit and forever hold my peace while you married a dick?"

"Do you not realize that by leaving, you did that anyway? At least if you had been there, you could've objected and saved me from marrying a cheater."

"Don't you dare blame your husband's infidelity on me! I had nothing to do with it. I just happened to catch him and decided to be a good best friend and tell you…"

"The only time you were ever a good friend…"

"I have always been a good friend to you. I have always been there for you, and I've always had your back…"

"Have you forgotten that you left for six years?"

"Will you please shut up and let me talk? Damn, I came over here to apologize and I end up pissed off and feeling like shit." Silver took a step back; at some point during their quarreling they had gotten face to face. "You just stay over there and shut the fuck up. Let me say what I have to say and then you can offer a rebuttal, because this continuous cutting each other off ain't working and it's only making me more mad."

"Fine." While Blaze didn't like the tone and choice of words that Silver had used, she had to admit that he was right. There were words coming out of their mouths and there were points being made; but the two had been talking at each other, not to each other. There was no communication at all.

The hedgehog took a moment to draw in a deep breath in an attempt to relax himself before he began to speak. "Look Blaze, I was wrong all the way around. I was wrong to call you ignorant and conceited because I was upset with you and in the future I need to learn not to let my feelings affect my diction. I was wrong to skip out on your wedding six years ago. Being your best friend, I should've been there and been happy for you, even if it was feigned happiness, and I wasn't. It was wrong, no, it was _fucked up_ for me to leave without a goodbye; and it was even more fucked up for me to not speak to you the entire time that I was gone. I know that saying sorry isn't gonna just make things better and put things back to the way they used to be, but at the moment saying sorry is all that I can offer you."

After a moment of silence, Blaze realized that it was her turn to speak. "Silver, you have no idea how deep it cut me when I saw your empty chair on my wedding day. You have no idea how betrayed I felt. I spent my first night as a married woman crying myself to sleep because I was so broken at the fact that you didn't even bother to show up at my wedding, I was so broken at the fact that you left without even telling me bye. And then for days, for weeks, for months; I expected for you to at least tell me what happened to you and why you disappeared off of the face of the earth. But that explanation never came. I never even got a text from you. You couldn't bother to text your own best friend?"

"I was afraid to talk to you. I was afraid that you'd never want to talk to me again after I left. Not a day went by where I didn't pick up my phone and touch your name, ready to hit the call button but too afraid to actually go through with it. I thought about you every day. I wondered if you were happy, I wondered how your life was, I wondered how the married life was treating you. But whenever I thought about contacting you, something told me not to. Something told me that you would ignore me or tell me off, and I couldn't risk either one of those happening to me. I didn't want to believe that the girl I was in love with hated me, so I forced myself not to talk to you. I'm sorry."

"'Sorry' doesn't take away all those days and nights that I would secretly cry. 'Sorry' doesn't put you in a chair at my wedding. 'Sorry' doesn't get rid of the scar that you left on my soul, Silver."

"But it's all that I can realistically offer you. I wish I could take away the hurt that I put you through, I wish I could get rid of the ugly scar that I left on your soul, I wish I could go back in time and make myself go to your wedding. But sadly, I can't do any of that. What I can to is sincerely apologize and do everything within my power to help you through this tough emotional time you're going through.

"These last few weeks have been hell on me because I know that you're not doing anything but wallowing in your sorrows, and I couldn't do anything to help you. Now, I'm hoping that I can. I want to take your shattered heart and mend it back together, piece by piece, until it's back to normal. I want to be here to wipe your tears when you cry and tell you that your eyes will feel sore if you do it for too long. I want to make sure that you don't spend entire days in bed pitying yourself and that you get out of the house. I want to make sure that you eat something every day and that you aren't starving yourself because you aren't in an eating mood. I wanna make sure that this doesn't destroy you because dammit Blaze, I love you and I want to see you overcome this."

The tears that were spilling from Blaze's eyes had begun to fall at a quicker rate as she listened to her friend's heartfelt apology. She knew that his apology wouldn't automatically fix things, but it was a start; he had managed to get his foot in the door.

"Come here," Silver said, gently taking the feline's hand and pulling her close to him so that he was able to wipe her tears away. "No more tears. I'm sure you've cried enough today." Then, cupping her face in his large hands, the hedgehog uttered a soothing "I love you."

Blaze responded to this action with a deep kiss.

 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading, and don't hesitate to leave a review. But just remember that you can leave flames like propane but none of you can gas me.**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_


	8. Recollection

_**A/N: "Yeah, yeah, I heard you've got a boyfriend…that's cool but where's he at?" – KYLE "Don't Wanna Fall in Love."**_

" _ **No matter what I do, all I think about is you. Even when I'm with my boo, you know I'm crazy over you." – Kelly Rowland in Nelly's "Dilemma"**_

 _ **Real quick before you guys dive into this chapter, I just wanna say to those that understand why I write the way that I do, I love you guys. Seeing reviews and/or PMs like that put a smile on my face. And to all the people that bash me, my shippings, and my writing style; I love y'all to. My haters think that they're demotivational and that by condescending on me, they can force me to stop doing what I'm doing BUT that's not the case. You guys that pick at me and make fun of me, you guys are my biggest motivators. I like when you tell me that I suck or that my ideas are stupid; because one day in the future when I'm amongst the popular writers of this site, I'll be writing a great story and y'all will be eating crow and I heard that crow doesn't taste too good.**_

 _ **Also with this chapter, I'm kinda testing the waters for adding sexual content into this story. For those of you that don't like things like that, don't worry, it's not heavily detailed and graphic hardcore smut in here (yet). In fact, it's more of a heavily implied thing. However, if a majority of the people that follow this story is okay with smut, I can add it. So feedback would be very helpful.**_

 _ **With that being said, I do not talk about my writing skills and strategies. I am just a writer, and I let my fics do the talking for me.**_

 _Chapter Eight: Reflection_

 _(With Blaze, approx. noon)_

Blaze awoke in her bed with a jolt, frantically looking around the room, looking for any signs of her naïve friend. She vaguely remembered his presence the previous night, wondering if the things that occurred had been real or just a vivid dream. She remembered arguing with him on her front porch and an apology fitting somewhere in that event, and she remembered seeing him cry and feeling herself cry. Those were the only somewhat clear memories of last night that she had; the rest were swirling and hazy, seemingly subconscious. The feeling of his large warm hands, the sensation of his lips on hers, the heat that was generated from the closeness of their bodies, the liquid fire that coursed through her veins…

It was so vague and obscure that it had to be a dream, but yet so lifelike that there was no way she could've imagined it.

As the feline looked around her bedroom, trying to clear her head, she noticed that her clothes from the other day weren't put in her laundry basket like they normally were; but they were messily lying on the floor next to what used to be Sonic's side of the bed. And then the smell hit her, the unmistakable smell of sex. It was faint, but she recognized it immediately; and she realized at that moment that her hazy memories were not a dream, they were a reality. After the chaos that had occurred at her front door, she'd slept with her best friend, which was not good.

She was still married. Even though she and Sonic weren't on the best of terms at the moment, she was still his wife. She still wore her engagement ring and wedding band. Though she didn't adopt his surname, the title of "Mrs." still preceded her own name. She was the mother of his only child. She was tied to him in more ways than just one.

And she'd cheated on him.

Part of her felt guilty for breaking her vows that she took before her family and her Creator, but another part of her felt no remorse for what she had done. After all, he had done the same to her, and she was a firm believer of the verse "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". And, she did have feelings for Silver. She'd suppressed them for the entire duration of her relationship with Sonic, up until this point. Did she feel as strongly towards Silver as he felt for her? She wasn't sure. She knew that her feelings were strong, but she wasn't sure that she could call it love. Like? Definitely. Strong like? Absolutely. Infatuation? Perhaps. But love? Blaze had no idea.

In all honesty, she wasn't sure what love was anymore.

Blaze's father had always told her that love wasn't an emotion, but a state of mind. The feelings and emotions that being in love caused were all a result of what she was thinking. She had been told that if she thought about someone constantly, she was in love; but the feline always had a problem with that logic. As of right now, her mind was consumed with trying to remember exactly what she had done with Silver the previous night and what Sonic had been doing to her for God knows how long. Something told her that these thoughts were more related to panic than love.

 _(The Previous Night, with Silver and Blaze, approx. 10:30)_

 _Silver immediately pulled away from his friend, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Did you just…"_

 _The feline nodded, covering her reddening face. "I did…I'm so sorry. I didn't mean…"_

 _The hedgehog shook his head, reaching towards Blaze and pulling her hands away from her face. "No, don't apologize, I didn't mind it. It's okay…"_

" _It's not okay Silver. I'm married, I can't just kiss another man…"_

" _Blaze, I'm not just 'another man'. I'm your best friend. I love you. And, I don't know if you love me too, but I know for a fact that you care about me as more than a friend. It's nothing wrong with showing people that you care about them."_

 _Blaze sighed, taking a step away from her friend. "It is…nevermind Silver." Then the feline cast a glance in his direction and remembered that he had walked to her home in a freezing downpour. "Get in here, out of the rain. You're gonna get sick."_

 _The hedgehog obeyed, stepping into the house and closing the door behind him, dripping water onto the floor around him. "You got a towel or something I can use to dry off with?"_

" _I do, but you are completely soaked; I don't think a towel is gonna be enough. You need a change of clothes or something."_

" _Do you have anything I can change into?"_

" _I think there are still some of Sonic's clothes here. I can go check…"_

" _Nevermind. I'd rather stay dripping wet and cold than change into something of his…"_

" _Stop it. You're changing clothes, and I'll be damned if I let you walk around my house dripping water like a wet sponge. You're just gonna wear something of his for a few hours until your clothes dry or the rain stops and I can take you home."_

 _Blaze's statement was followed by a noise of frustration from her friend, along with a bitter, "Fine."_

" _Now, wait here. I'll be right back."_

 _(Present Day, with Blaze, approx. 12:15 PM)_

Just getting up from her bed and showering was enough for Blaze to have a flashback of the fuzzy memory that she called the previous night. She remembered kissing him on her porch. She remembered his large hands cupping her face, wiping her tears away as their lips moved together, how passionate he was in the split second before he pulled away and looked at her with wide eyes. And the funny thing was that she didn't want him to pull away. Before the embarrassment set in, she wanted to pout about him pulling away. She had wanted to kiss him again. She had enjoyed the feeling of his lips on hers. She had wanted to feel his hands on her face again. The feeling that she had gotten from that short, intimate moment that they had shared, she had wanted to feel it again. Judging by the conclusion she had formed upon her waking up, she had a feeling that she did.

As the feline dressed herself, the fuzzy and unclear memories from her night with Silver returned, along with the sensations that she had supposedly felt. The butterflies that seemingly inhabited her stomach in his presence, the heat that radiated off of his skin whenever he moved in close to her, and the bitter cold that was left whenever he moved away. A glimpse of their actions danced across her mind, and she saw what seemed to be a blurred image of his body over hers. The brief sensation of desire accompanied this image, causing her to close her eyes and pause her activities; the sensation quickly moving through every part of her body and extending out to her fingertips, and then leaving. The bitter cold feeling returned.

It was all too familiar. This was the exact same bitter cold feeling that she had felt when Silver was gone for six years. This was the feeling of truly missing someone. During her friend's long hiatus, she missed the comfort that his presence and voice gave her. Now, she missed the fiery feeling that his touch left on her skin, the warm sensation of his body being dangerously close to hers, the pleasing feeling of his lips on hers…

It was a mixture of primal desire and desperate longing, and Blaze didn't know the lesser of the two evils.

Looking in her mirror adjacent to her bed, Blaze gazed at her reflection and sighed. The feline was beyond confused. She didn't know how she felt about Silver, she didn't know if she'd be able to successfully hide this from her husband, she didn't know what to do about her marriage at this point. She didn't even know who the feline looking back at her was.

 _(The Previous Night with Silver and Blaze, approx. 10:45 PM)_

" _No way in hell am I wearing that. It looks like its two sizes too small," Silver itemized, folding his arms over his chest and looking away from the feline in protest._

 _An overly dramatic sigh escaped Blaze. "Seriously? Are you going to be that childish? It's a shirt, it's the same size as the one you have on right now. The only difference between the two is that this shirt is dry and the one on your body isn't. Now, you can put it on and be dry and warm, or you can keep being petty and stay wet and freezing."_

"… _Give me the damn shirt."_

" _That's what I thought," the feline said, tossing the shirt at her friend before turning away so that he could change._

" _Whatever. I'm not doing this because you told me to; I'm doing it because I don't wanna be cold. And you didn't have to turn around, I'm only changing my shirt. It's not like my pants are off or anything."_

" _Well, I mean, I kinda am married. It would be wrong for me to watch you take your shirt off," Blaze said, matter-of-factly._

" _But you just kissed me, like, five minutes ago," the hedgehog responded, using the same tone._

 _Blaze didn't respond, she merely sighed._

" _I take your silence as me poking a hole in your argument."_

" _There is no argument. I was just stating why it wouldn't be right for me to watch you change your shirt. You act as if you want me to see you shirtless…"_

" _That…wasn't where I was going with this at all…" Silver began before taking his shirt off and attempting to put on the one his friend gave him, struggling to get it over his head. "I told you this stupid shirt was too small…"_

 _Blaze then turned around and shook her head before moving closer to the hedgehog to assist him. "It's not too small. You're just having a hard time because the shirt is dry and your body is wet. Dry clothes don't easily go onto a wet body; that's why I got you a towel."_

 _Silver looked at the towel the feline had placed on her bed a moment ago. "That's what you brought it for? I thought it was for me to spread out and set my clothes on."_

" _Oh my God…" Blaze muttered as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew that Silver was still naïve but she didn't think that he was this stupid. Common logic would hint that if she brought him a towel when he was soaking wet, it was meant for him to dry off with. She took the shirt from his hands and picked up the towel, tossing it over his head and then vigorously rubbing it on his skin._

" _What are you – I can do this myself…" Silver stated, his speech muffled but still understandable._

" _You don't even have enough sense to dry off when someone gives you a towel. I'm afraid of what you'll do if I let you do this yourself."_

" _Dry off." He responded in a 'duh' manner. "Only I'd do it as though I'm a person and not a household pet. Could you be any rougher?"_

" _Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know that I had to swaddle and caress you like infant. Let me fix that." The feline then took the towel off of the hedgehog's partially dry head and began to lightly guide it over his upper body, causing both of them to blush lightly._

" _Like I said…I can do this myself. Besides, I'm not going to get dry with you being that gentle. I'm not a baby."_

" _Could've fooled me. And you just told me that I was being too rough, but now I'm being too gentle?"_

" _Yes. I mean, you…stroking and patting my chest with the towel isn't doing anything but moving the water around."_

 _Blaze then pulled the towel away from her friend's torso and ran a hand over the soft fur. "I beg to differ…" She began, but soon trailed off and began to unconsciously run her hands over Silver's chest, entangling her fingers in the silky white fur that lie in the center. It was still slightly damp and in need of grooming, but at the moment the feline was indifferent. She had become entranced in his body's appearance and feel. It was intoxicating…_

" _Uh…Blaze…" Silver began, his muzzle going from its natural peach color to a bright red. "…What are you doing?"_

 _(Present Day with Blaze, approx. 12:30 PM)_

What was she doing? How could she allow herself to become so hypnotized by his figure and the feel of his fur? Yes, he had a nice body. Yes, his fur was unbelievably soft. But why should she allow herself to become intoxicated with those things? Why should she…?

The ringing of the doorbell drew her out of her judgmental thoughts and caused them to go into a panicked race. Was Silver back?

She quickly exited her room and made her way to the front door, her worry mixing with irritation as she saw that she was opening the door unto Sonic.

"What's up?" The speedster casually asked, as though it wasn't the first time he'd seen his wife since his infidelity was exposed.

"Can I help you?" Blaze responded, coming off bitter to try and hide the panic running through her at the moment.

"Yeah. Can you step back so I can come in?"

"What do you want?"

"I want you to let me in the house."

"Why?"

"Because I need to talk to you."

"Why can't you talk standing on the porch?"

"Will you just let me in? I just want to sit down and talk to you?"

Blaze's panic became more intense. What if he figured out that Silver was there last night? What if he managed to figure out that they had sex? What if he reacted way worse than she did when she found out about how he was cheating? What if…

"Blaze? C'mon man, let me in so we can talk."

"You've been gone for three weeks and I haven't heard a word from you. Now all of a sudden you wanna talk?" The feline said, using spite to mask her fear as she stepped aside.

"Yeah. I figured you needed time to cool off," Sonic responded, sauntering his way over to the couch and taking a seat.

Blaze made her way to the opposite side of the room and took a seat in a chair. "Talk."

"You…don't wanna sit next to me?"

"No, I don't. I'm not in the mood to listen to anything you have to say, but you're here and I don't feel like kicking you out so talk. And hurry up."

The speedster made his way over to where she was and sat in the chair adjacent to her. "I know you changed the locks…"

"Yes, I did."

"And I know you have an extra key…"

"You're not getting the key."

"What? Why not? This is my house too."

"Okay, and? You lost the privilege of having anything to do with me and this house when you decided to step out whenever you did. So no, you can't get a key. Can you leave now?"

"So you're telling me that I can't get a key to a house that _I_ pay for because you still mad at me for that?"

"Yes the hell I am, and _you_ are not the only one that put money into this house. Before you convinced me to be a Stay at Home Mom, I did have a job and I did make mortgage payments. So I think I have the right to keep you out of it."

The hedgehog gave an understanding nod. "Okay. I see your point. But I'm about to make another one. How'd you pay for the locksmith? How did you pay for the locks to get changed? You don't have a source of income."

"There's money in our account…"

"But that money comes from _my_ payroll. So that means that _my_ money was used to pay for getting the locks changed. _I_ paid for those locks. That key that you've got? That's _my_ key. And I'd like to have it."

An irritated sigh escaped Blaze. "Are you really gonna do this?"

"Hell yeah I'm gonna do this. Give me my damn key."

"Fuck you and your key, okay? You can take your conceited logic and go back to your sideline's house because you're really not welcome here."

"And why am I not welcome here?"

"I don't like you."

"Why?"

"You're a liar, you're a cheater, you're arrogant as hell, you're a dick, you have a big nose, you don't take anything seriously, you eat the same meal every day, you always want everything to be fast, you're a smart ass, you don't know how to cook or do laundry so I can't ever have a lazy day, you…damn, I'm out of fingers," Blaze listed, using her fingers to help her count but stopping once she reached ten things. "Mind if I use yours to keep going?"

"It's like that? I do one thing wrong, and you dislike everything that makes me who I am?"

"Yeah. Usually not liking someone means that you don't like who they are. If I don't like you, why would I like what makes you who you are?"

This time it was Sonic that gave an irritated sigh. "That's funny, considering that you used to tell me that you loved everything that made my person. You used to pinch my nose and tell me that it was cute because it was bit. You used to tell me you loved how confident I was in myself. You used to…"

As Sonic went on Blaze sighed and tuned him out, letting her mind wander back to the previous night and the events that took place. It wasn't something that she wanted to linger on, but she figured that it would be better than listening to what was coming out of her husband's mouth.

 _(With Silver and Blaze, approx. 11: 00 PM)_

 _She should not have kissed him again. Because with this kiss, Silver didn't pull away. In fact, he pulled her closer and deepened it, delving his tongue deep into her mouth and causing heat to spread throughout her entire body. The feeling of his tongue teasing hers before he pulled away to nip and suck at her lower lip was astonishing. Her heart fluttered, her stomach turned, and her flesh burned from the closeness and contact of him. Kissing him again was most definitely a mistake._

 _It was a mistake because, as if his tongue in her mouth wasn't enough, now he was taking the opportunity to explore the curves of her body. As she felt his large hands continuously glide over her she inadvertently emitted a pleased sigh, as did he, but his noise of pleasure was accompanied by him breaking their kiss and muttering three words that would change the course of the night:_

" _I_ want _you."_

 _And as wrong as it was for her to do it, she let him have her. She gave herself up to him. She let him experience her in a way that only one other man had. She let him take her, and she enjoyed the_ hell _out of letting him do it. He seemed to be in awe the entire time, and he worshipped her like she would disappear if he closed his eyes. He treated her like a goddess with every stroke and every touch. And if she were to be completely honest with herself, she absolutely loved it._

 _(Present Day with Blaze and Sonic, approx. 12:20 PM)_

"Hey! Have you heard a word that I just said?" Sonic snapped, bringing the feline out of her recollection.

Blaze sighed. "Not really."

"Oh my – so you really were serious about not wanting to listen to anything that I had to say? Wow. You're really something else."

"And you're really getting on my nerves. Can you leave?"

"Can you give me what I came over here for?"

"Go on the porch and look in the plant next to the chairs. Lock the door when you find it," the feline snapped as she stood and began to leave living room. "Then leave, and stay away for a few days."

 _ **A/N: Merry Christmas and sorry for the long update. College is time consuming. Anyway, thanks for reading, and take some time to leave a review. And remember: you can leave flames like propane, but none of you can gas me.**_

 _ **I do not talk. I am just a writer.**_


	9. Stuck

_**A/N: "I know when that hotline bling, that can only mean one thing." – Drake "Hotline Bling"**_

" _ **I know that everything that glitters ain't gold, I know that shit ain't always good as it seems, but 'til you get it tell me how could you know?" – J. Cole "A Tale of Two Citiez"**_

" _ **Man, I love this shit." – August Alsina "I Luv This Shit"**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_

 _Chapter Nine: Stuck_

 _(With Blaze and Silver, approx. 11:00 AM)_

"So, how've you been holding up? I haven't seen to you since I came over to apologize and…Blaze, why you looking at me like that?"

Blaze shifted uncomfortably on the hedgehog's couch before giving an exasperated sigh. "What do you mean? How am I supposed to look at you?"

"You're _not_ supposed to look at me like you wanna stab me," Silver retorted, scooting away from her.

"I'm not looking at you like that."

"You are too. Are you upset about something? Did Sonic piss you off in the time between my calling you and you driving over here?"

The feline rolled her eyes and scowled at the mention of her husband's name. "No. I haven't seen him since the day after you apologized." Blaze was sure not to describe that day as the day they slept together. Things were already obstinate enough with the two of them still freshly remembering the events that occurred that night. There was no need to reiterate it.

"What'd he want?"

"Apparently he felt entitled to the spare key I had gotten once I changed the locks, and so he went on a huge rant on how 'his money' paid for the locks to get changed. It really defeated the purpose of me changing the locks if he was just gonna demand for his key back." Another riled sigh. "I swear when he annoys he manages to hit a completely different nerve than everyone else does."

"So that's why you look murderous?"

"I'm pretty sure I don't look murderous."

"And I'm certain that you do. But, I can give you a tip for dealing with his little power trips."

"And what is that?"

Silver moved back to his original position and gave the feline a heartfelt gaze. "Get a job."

Blaze's seemingly murderous look changed to one of offense before settling to irritation. "Okay, I _know_ you're not talking…"

"No, no, no. I wasn't saying that to be a dick. I was saying it to be helpful. Get a job. Go back to being an RN or working in the medical field; because, then, not only will you have money, but you'll be the breadwinner. And money is power. If you get your own money and make more than he does, he won't be able to pull financial rank over you anymore. Make sense?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it makes sense, but there's so much work in going to be an RN again…"

"Just a test to see if you still remember all the things that have to do with your job. It's not like you have to go through four years of college all over again."

"But if I don't pass that test…"

"You'll take a seminar to get your knowledge back and then go to work. But I'm sure you'll pass. You haven't been out of work that long…right?"

"I haven't worked a job in three years."

"See, not that long. I'm sure you still remember most of what you used to do."

The feline chuckled. "Why are you doing this?"

"What? Helping you? Because I promised you I would," Silver replied, placing his hand on hers.

Heat shot through both of their arms, pushing its way through the expanse of their bodies. It had been a week since they last saw each other. A week since Silver made his rainy trek to apologize. A week since tempers flared and words were spat without second thought. And a week since they're infamous act of lust.

To Blaze, though it was wrong, it had been far too long since she felt his tantalizing touch. The innocent gesture had brought back several memories of that night and how she imploded under his touch. Vivid flashes of their activities danced across her mind.

To Silver, it was the same. A week away from feeling the smooth contour of her body was like hell. His innocent gesture sparked sinister wishes as he brought his eyes away from her face and down to the curves that he seemed to adorn the last time he saw her. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to touch her. He wanted to feel her body for a second time. The last time he'd done it, she was so responsive. Stroking her cheek led to a relaxed sigh and her leaning into his palm. Pulling her body flush against his resulted in a slight gasp. Rubbing the small of her back elicited her eyes closing. Moving his hands lower to squeeze the soft flesh of her attractively shaped backside cause a lip bite. Moving his hands up to explore her bosom brought forth a satisfied sigh. And her reactions only grew once he added his lips and tongue into the process.

He wanted to do it again. And she wanted him to.

However; morals prevented Blaze from fully immersing herself in the memories of the things that Silver had previously done to her and wishing that he would do those things again. Unwillingly bringing herself back to reality, the feline brought her eyes away her friend's hand and back to his face; and she noticed that he was studying her body, his eyes seeming to follow every curve on her. "Silver…what are you looking at…?"

The hedgehog was sure to take his time bringing his eyes to meet hers, not wanting to cheat himself out of any opportunity to take in her beauty. "A very _sexy_ feline."

A riled sigh. "Don't do that," Blaze snapped, pulling her hand away from Silver's.

"Do what? Look at you? It's kinda hard when you're sitting in front of me…"

"I meant don't talk about me like that."

"What are you talking about? I just complimented you and you're acting like I called you a bitch…"

"It's the way that you complimented me that I have a problem with."

"I just said that you were sexy…"

"Exactly. Don't do that."

Silver's eyes became devoid of all previous lust and desire, becoming replaced with confusion as he gave his friend a mystified look. "What? Why?"

"Because I'm married and you shouldn't refer to me that way."

If the hedgehog was confused before, he was completely baffled now. "Really? We had sex, and not one time during that did you bring up being married; now I call you sexy and you pull the marriage card. What's the deal? Are you selectively married? You pick and choose when you wanna claim him or something? Do you wake up in the mornings and think 'I'm gonna be married today, but tomorrow I'm gonna act single.'…"

About halfway through her friend's rant, Blaze pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation; by the time Silver had gotten to his imitation of her thought process, she had reached her breaking point and cut him off with a harshly whispered command. " _Shut up._ "

Silver sighed. "Why? Because I'm right and you don't wanna hear what I have to say because you know I'm right?"

"No. Hell no. You don't have any clue as to what you're talking about. You're just saying things that don't make sense and then following those things with piss-poor imitations of my thought process. That's why I told you to shut up."

"I don't know what I'm talking about?"

The feline shook her head and folded her arms over her chest. "No, you don't."

"I'm saying things that don't make sense?"

She nodded. "You are."

"Did you or did you not sleep with me about a week ago?"

An eye roll. An over dramatic one, at that. "That's beside the point…"

"That's not what I asked you."

"I know what you asked me."

"If you know, then answer the damn question."

"Why? It's a question you already know the answer to."

"I'm trying to prove a point here…"

Blaze scoffed. "What point could you possibly have?"

"Answer my question and you'll find out."

"Could you repeat the question?"

This time it was Silver that gave an over dramatic eye roll. "Did you or did you not sleep with me last week?"

"Rephrase the question? Maybe not use colloquial speech this time?"

The hedgehog's jaw tightened. "Did you or did you not have coitus with me last week?"

"Coitus…?"

"Don't fucking play with me. You have a degree in nursing, you know what the fuck coitus is. Now answer the question."

Silver's tone reminded her of his tone he took when she refused to allow him to apologize to her. It was frightening. The way his voice sounded sent chills down her spine. "I did," she mumbled, all of a sudden feeling tiny in comparison to the male that was standing over her. _When did he stand up?_

"And during that intercourse, did you once mention you being married?"

"No."

"Point proven." The hedgehog said, calming down and taking his seat next to her.

"…What point did you just prove?"

"That you pick and choose when you wanna be married."

"No, I don't. And I can't explain this to you because you don't understand what I'm going through."

"I can try to put myself in your shoes…"

"No you can't. Because putting yourself in my shoes doesn't give you the ability to assess the situation like I would. You only see what I'm going through. You aren't going through it."

"You can still tell me about it. I know I'm not married. I know I didn't commit adultery. But I have experienced heartbreak before."

This time, Blaze was the one to sport a confused expression. "When?"

"When you said yes you'd marry him."

The room was silent for a moment, mainly due to the fact that Silver's statement had rendered the feline completely speechless. Her accepting Sonic's proposal had broken her best friend's heart? And she was just finding out about it nearly seven and a half years later? "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want something that bothered me to have an influence on something highly important to you…but I guess me not showing up at your wedding kinda defeated that purpose. Anyway, I can relate to your heartbreak. I might not be able to fully understand the rest of your explanation, but I can get the heartbreak part."

The feline closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It seems like I pick and choose when I'm married, but I honestly don't. In my mind, I know fully well that I'm a wife; but whenever I'm around you I don't always think reasonably. In fact you make it very hard for me to think straight at all. And last week, I don't even think that I was thinking. I wasn't thinking at all when I kissed you the first time…"

"What about the second time?"

"I was thinking then."

"Were you thinking straight?"

"Hell no. Whenever I'm around you, eighty percent of the time I'm not thinking straight. The only time I was actually in some control of my mind was when I was helping you dry off, because apparently you don't know that that's what towels are for, and then I saw you shirtless…and all coherent thought just went out of the window. And then I made the mistake of touching you, and then I got the notion to kiss you again…then you kissed back…and your hands were everywhere..."

"Sorry…"

"No, don't apologize. I loved every second of it. I loved how your hands felt on me. I loved how it led to what was probably the best sex I've ever had in my entire life. I loved how you touched me, how you held me, how you… _filled_ me. You treated me like a goddess, and I loved it so damn much."

"Did you…think about being married the entire time that we were…?"

"Yes, I did. I know I'm married and I was aware of that when we had sex; but every time I felt you caress me, or pull me closer to you, or push further into me, I stopped caring. And then the next day the guilt set in. I mean, I committed adultery."

" _We_. I know I'm not married, but you're not about to blame yourself for what transpired. It takes two to have sex…"

"Silver, please. I know you mean well, but this is entirely on me. I could've turned you away, but I just…didn't want to. And now I'm a cheat. I got pissed and kicked my husband out for cheating on me, and I did the same thing to him. I told my son that it was wrong for married people to have relationships with others outside of their spouse, and I ate my own words. And the worst part is…just being around you makes me wanna indulge in all that wrong again."

"It's not all that erroneous if you love me."

Blaze looked away, silent once more.

"Do you love me?"

A shrug. A very lackadaisical one at that. "I don't know. I don't even know what love is anymore…"

"I think you do."

"How can you tell me? Hm? The one person I thought I loved broke my heart and now I can't stand him…"

"That doesn't mean that you don't know what love is. So what Sonic's infidelity caused you to fall outta love with him? Usually when people get hurt by someone they love, that love turns into a deep-seated dislike. Your love is earthly, not divine. Your love isn't perfect, okay? Some of us don't know how to keep loving someone that caused us a great deal of pain. Some of us just plain can't do it. But that doesn't mean that we don't know what love is anymore. That doesn't mean that we can't tell when we're in love. So I'm gonna ask you again, and please be honest with me: do you love me?"

The feline had started to shrug, but caught herself before she could finish the gesture. Silver had a point. Heartbreak doesn't constitute ignorance of love. If anything, it enhances knowledge of it.

"Blaze?" Silver asked, his tone resting between a desperate plea and an impatient huff.

"…Yes."

"You love me?"

She nodded.

Then she felt the all too familiar sensation of his lips on hers. And she melted.

The next thing that seemed to register in her mind was being lifted off of Silver's couch and feeling his strong arms hold her body against his. The heat that had shot through them earlier returned at full force. Blaze felt like she was on fire, and all he had done was pick her up and carry her into his room. The worship that he had previously done to her body had yet to begin.

"Look," Silver began in a polite but ominous whisper. "I know you're married. You know you're married. But I love you, and you love me. And I know you want _this_."

He did not need to explain what _that_ was.

"And I know you're gonna want it more often." This statement, or rather fact, was followed by a peck to the feline's slightly parted lips. "And whenever you do, call me. I promise I can get you what you desire." Another kiss, accompanied with a gentle nip to her lower lip. "Or if you don't want sex, if you just wanna talk. Just pick up the phone." This time his statement was followed by a deep kiss.

Then that feeling consumed Blaze again. The heat, the butterflies, the fluttering of her heart. It all came back. She felt his hands glide over her skin, like last time; but unlike last time she felt his hands more around her thighs, and her back stiffened once she felt him drive her legs apart.

At that moment, his lips were off of hers and on her neck, ornamenting the area with kisses. She knew that he wasn't going to do anything that would mark her, but she was content with the pecks and wet kisses that he gave. Those and the sensation of his hands caressing the inside of her clothed thighs.

"What…are you doing?" She managed to say with only a single stutter as she felt him glide two fingers over the clothed junction between her legs.

Silver pulled away from her neck and gave a small smirk before hooking his fingers on the waistband of her leggings, catching them in her underwear as well, and pulling them down. "I'm doing something I didn't do last time."

Soon, he licked his lips and kneeled before her.

 _ **A/N: I hope everyone's having a blessed New Year. Thanks for reading and leave a review, but remember: you can leave flames like propane, but none of you can gas me.**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_


	10. The Return of Haqq

_**A/N: "I hit the road, I made a name, I came on home, I ain't the same." – J . Cole "N***** Know"**_

" _ **Nah, I ain't snitching, I heard they give them n***** stitches now." – J . Cole "Crooked Smile"**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_

 _Chapter Ten: Return of Haqq_

 _(With Malique and Rodrick, approx. noon)_

"Explain to me how I got stuck holding the sign for Haqq again?"

"I told you twice already, you suck at searching through a crowd Malique."

"But if we have a sign with Haqq's name on it, shouldn't he be the one searching for us? I mean it only makes sense." The older hedgehog countered, his usual bitter tone decorating his voice.

"Well it couldn't hurt to help him locate us, and you've proven many times to be useless in helping those you care about."

"I'm useless in helping people? Who gave you a ride over here?"

"We agreed to ride over here together. I didn't beg to ride with you."

"Whatever. You'll be walking home, since apparently I'm not helpful."

Rodrick merely chuckled before giving his comeback in a pragmatic tone. "So, you get mad because I call you useless and out of irritation, you do something that further proves my point?"

Malique sighed, his face showing a mix of irritation and confusion.

"Look at you. Stuck." The younger hedgehog laughed before resuming his crowd browsing, searching for their youngest cousin.

"Yeah, like you're gonna be in about two seconds. Take this stupid sign, I'm outta here; I've got better shit to do on my day off than to stand here with you and be insulted." Malique then tossed the sign with his cousin's name on it aside and headed toward the exit of the airport, leaving his younger brother without a way back home.

Rodrick watched his brother leave before shaking his head and picking up the sign. "It's official. My brother is an entire ass, he's not just the asshole anymore."

"I told you that before I left for college."

The hedgehog turned towards the sound of the voice he'd heard. It was much too peppy to be Malique's voice and not deep enough to be Silver's voice.

"Rod? Stop looking at me like you don't recognize me and greet me. I haven't seen you in years."

"Haqq? You look…" The older hedgehog began, not quite sure of how to label his cousin's appearance.

"Grown? Yeah, I was 18 when I left for college. It's been eight years. I aged just like everyone else."

"But when you left you were this scrawny teenager…"

"And I'm a grown man now. I gained some muscle, got a little taller, and I let my quills grow. But I'm still the same person I was when I left here, just smarter. Now stop looking at me like I'm a stranger. We grew up together for God's sake."

"You're right, you're right. Sorry Haqq, I just…Silver didn't tell us that you changed physically when he came back a couple of months ago."

"Speaking of Silver, where is he? I figured he would be here…"

"Hell if I know. 'Lique and I tried calling him but he wouldn't answer his phone so we figured he was doing something important like looking for a job."

"He still don't have a job?"

"Nope. He claims to have put in applications at places, but you know Silver. He could be saying it to get us to leave him alone about it."

"I know." The younger hedgehog chortled. "So, how's things been?"

"Things are good. Malique's a lawyer and he's successful, I'm a designer and I love it. What about you?"

"Well, you know things with me are always okay. I got a job as an EMT until I can find something better, so that's good. But, uh, moving on…if Malique left you here, how am I gonna get my luggage to my place? I'm assuming you rode with him…"

"I did. I guess we can call a cab and make two trips."

Haqq frantically shook his head. "Do you know how expensive that would be? Cabs charge by the mile and my place is all the way on the other side of town."

"Okay, how about I call a cab to take me back to my place so that I can get my car?"

"That makes much more sense. Why didn't you say that in the first place?"

"I wasn't thinking."

"Same old Rod. Hey, do you think that maybe you can take me by Silver's place after we drop my stuff off? Maybe he won't be busy by that time?"

 _(With Silver and Blaze, approx. 1:00 PM)_

"I'll take that statement as my cue to leave. I just wasted my time in coming over here," Blaze stated, or rather spat, at her friend before grabbing her purse and rising off the couch, heading towards the stairs.

She was followed closely by Silver, who took ahold of her wrist and stopped her momentum before she could descend towards the door. "Why you leaving? Because I made a point and you don't like it? Because I'm right? Why do you always do this? Why do you always run from the truth?"

"No one is running from the truth. I'm trying to get away from you because you're pissing me off by spouting nonsense on a subject that you clearly know nothing about. Now let me go, I'm not in the mood to be around you anymore." The feline shot back, attempting to snatch her arm away.

Silver's grip tightened. "I find it really funny how whenever I seem to put a hole in your argument, you tell me I don't know what I'm talking about. I think that you don't want to hear what I have to say, so you tell me that I 'don't know what it's like'…"

"Because you don't know! You have no clue what it's like to be in my position right now! You've never been married before. You're not bound to one person and in love with another. You don't have a son that would be extremely confused if he saw that your ring finger was bare. You don't know how to explain a divorce to a six year old when he's been taught that his parents are _supposed_ to be together. So until you know how to handle all of those things, you cannot give me any advice or try to tell me that I'm wrong for how I'm trying to handle things right now. And as for your naysayer of 'if I love you then it shouldn't be hard'; you knew when you first told me that you loved me a couple of months ago that our relationship would become complicated. Granted, you didn't know that we would start sleeping together, but you knew that things would never be the same."

"Blaze, I…" Silver began, but the feline cut him off.

"I'm not done. You can't tell me that if I love you, then I would do this or anything like that because what you want me to do just isn't that easy. Getting a divorce isn't as simple as hiring a lawyer and getting divorce papers. If it was, then I would've filed for it when I found out about his affair. But I have to think about a lot of things. I know Sonic isn't gonna let me use the money from his check to pay a divorce lawyer, and I don't have a job. A divorce is a mutual contract that both parties must consent to. If I sign the papers, but Sonic refuses to, then we're still married. Then, if he does sign the papers, we have to deal with who gets custody of Shift, if one of us doesn't want joint-custody. So, while I do love you, I can't just get a divorce because you 'don't wanna share me'; it doesn't work like that. Now, let me go."

"Blaze, I'm sorry…"

"Please, just let me go home. I appreciate you apology, but I'd like to leave."

"I don't want you to leave mad at me. Let me make you feel better."

The feline gave another futile attempt at trying to pull her am away from the hedgehog, but Silver's grip was too strong. His hand seemed to have formed a covalent bond with her wrist. "You wanna make me feel better?"

Her friend nodded. "Of course I do. I hate when you're mad, especially when it's me who's upset you."

"Okay, alright. I'll tell you what you can do to make me feel better."

Silver's eyes lit up. He was eager to know what he could do to prevent his fiery jewel from walking out of the door.

"Let me go. Remove your hand from my wrist. Let me go home."

Just as quickly as his eyes had lit up with hope, did they dull to a boring gold with gloom. Slowly, Silver loosened his hold on the feline and allowed for her arm to fall from his grasp. With a defeated sigh, he watched her walk away, speaking quietly once she had reached the door. "I guess, I'll just text you later or something."

Blaze stopped before she could turn the knob and open the door. When had Silver become so emotional? She was so used to him masking how he felt. His tone…it was that same broken tone that decorated his voice the day he apologized to her. It was so wounded, as though seeing her walk away from him had broken his heart. She couldn't just ignore that.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, turning around and slowly walking back up the stairs.

Silver shook his head. "Nothing. I just…didn't want you leaving upset with me. I mean, you were mad at me for six years, and we just started moving forward from that. Now you're mad again and I wanna make you feel better, but you don't want me to. It feels like you don't want me to make you happy."

His tone had changed. Just like that, the hedgehog went from sounding hurt to sounding terrified. But why was he so afraid?

"If I can't make you happy, I might lose my only other chance to be with you. I mean, I screwed up once and was blessed with another opportunity to have you; but I feel like I'm making you mad more than I'm making you happy and that this second chance is slipping right through my fingers." He looked down, trying to hide the melancholy expression on his face. "I'm sorry that I don't know what you're going through. I'm sorry that I haven't experienced that for myself. But you don't know what it's like to feel like you missed a wide open window of opportunity and think for six years that you'll never get another one. You don't know what it's like to feel like you're walking on eggshells all the time because you managed to get a second chance and you don't wanna fuck it up. Any time that you leave here and you're happy, I'm happy, because I know that you'll come back. But whenever you leave pissed off, I'm terrified. Because I _don't_ know if you'll come back. What if Sonic decides to completely change? What if he stops seeing his mistress and decides to be a better husband? And I piss you off and you go home to a changed man. That's why I'm so adamant about you getting a divorce. It's not because I'm jealous, it's not because I'm selfish. Sonic is my only competition, and he's got a leg up on me because he's your husband, the father of your child, and you live together. If I make one wrong move…I…I…"

He never got a chance to finish stammering through his last sentence, because Blaze had lifted his chin and sealed her mouth to his. There weren't enough words in the English language to express that Silver had no need to be so afraid, so she communicated through the kiss; using each lip bite and tongue swipe to tell him not to fear. There was no need for him too. Even if Sonic did clean up his act, what did it matter? She didn't love him. She loved Silver. He was the one that had her heart, he was the one she wanted to run to with all of her problems, and he was the one she lusted after. He was the one that she wanted to be with. Sonic could create a cure for cancer, AIDS, HIV, win a Nobel Peace Prize, and publish several best-selling books; that wouldn't matter to her. He had betrayed her, and therefore wasn't deserving of her.

While this kiss had started off with pure intentions, impure thoughts and actions quickly took over. What had started off as innocently sweet was now quickly becoming lustfully sloppy, a mess of clashing saliva, lips, tongue, and teeth. It was wonderful, but it was a mess. And that lewdly beautiful chaos of a kiss led to hands eagerly exploring muscles and curves. Those explorations led to clothing being pushed aside and ungloved hands coming in contact with exposed fur. Before long, Silver's sweats – and boxers – were pulled down enough to expose his erection and Blaze's top was pushed up, the hardened peaks of each breast exposed to the cool air around them.

Silver pulled the feline's body flush against his, chuckling at how she shivered when his member pressed against her stomach. That chuckled was shortly replaced with a swallowed groan as he felt Blaze's small hands begin to stroke and gently tug at his member. His eyes closed and he felt his head tilting back as bliss began to take over.

"So, is this a bad time or should I come back later? You know, maybe when you're not about to get laid by a married woman?"

Wide eyes and frantic movements followed the cynical question, the hedgehog and feline quickly fixing their clothing so that it did the job of covering their bodies instead of exposing them.

"H – Haqq…?!" Silver exclaimed as he stared into the face of his cousin, who was standing unamused halfway up the stairwell. "Wha…whe…how the hell did you get in here?"

A shrug. "Oh, I don't know. The unlocked door. The key you have under your doormat. Pick one."

"Can…speak with you? Outside?"

The younger hedgehog didn't speak, he simply just descended down the rest of the staircase and left out.

Silver turned to look at Blaze, who was hiding her face. (Who wouldn't be? Any married person that was just caught pleasing a man that wasn't their husband would be outright ashamed of themselves.) "Look, stay here. I'll be right back." And then he left.

Haqq greeted him with a fist the moment he exited his apartment, his knuckles connecting with the older hedgehog's sternum. "So _that's_ why you didn't come with your brothers to the airport today. You were too busy having an affair with a married woman."

His cousin was too busy catching his breath to respond.

"What is wrong with you? Why you breaking up a happy home? Why you trying to ruin a relationship?"

"Ain't…" A gasp. "Ain't nothing…happy about that home…and the relationship's already ruined."

"Fuck are you talking about?"

"Sonic stepped out on her and she kicked him out. You wanna tell me that's the definition of a happy home?"

The younger was quiet for a moment. Then, with a sigh, he said, "Okay. Sorry for hitting you and accusing you of being a homewrecker. But that doesn't change the fact that you're still in the wrong."

"What?"

"You heard me. Just because their relationship is unstable and traveling the path of uncertainty, it doesn't mean that you can fuck her any time you want. That's not how it works."

Silver scoffed. "Not like we'll get caught."

To which Haqq responded with a look of sheer disbelief and a dropped jaw. "Um, I'm pretty certain that I just caught her playing with your dick. What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I meant by anyone else. We're careful. And as long as you don't tell anyone, our secret is safe."

"You're careful? I walked right into your apartment and saw you…"

"It wasn't planned, alright? She had come over to talk, and I said something that pissed her off and made her wanna leave. I guess when she was unlocking the door, she changed her mind and I told her how much I hate when she's mad at me and then she kissed me and…it just happened. Other times we make sure that no one will walk in on us or interrupt us."

His cousin shook his head. Silver just wasn't getting it. "And who's to say that it won't 'just happen' again? How do you know that something won't pop off and you'll forget to lock the door or turn your phone off or something like that? What then? And, why did you even get sexually involved with her? She's just using you."

Silver's eyes darkened with anger. "How can you say that?"

"How can you not see it? You've always been who she ran to with her problems, right up until you came to Angel Island. Who do you think she ran to with all of her problems, then? Her husband. Now that you're back and he's being unfaithful, she needs a new shoulder to cry on. And sex is often a good way to escape reality because it mirrors a drug. It gets you high and you forget all of your problems. So she's using your love and lust for her to escape her traumatic reality that her marriage is seemingly falling apart."

"That's not true…"

"Open your fucking eyes! She goes home to that house every day. She looks Sonic's child in the face every day. She sleeps in the bedroom that she and Sonic used to share. Every. Fucking. Day. Seven days a week she is reminded of what he did to her. Seven days a week she's hurting on the inside. She needs something to take the pain away, even if it's just for a little while. And that's where My Cousin, the Sideline comes in. You give her an embrace that she hasn't had since she last saw _him_. You give her love and attention. You make her feel good. You take her mind off of the pain for a little while, and as I've said before, sex is a drug. And just like any drug, you get enough of it and you're addicted. Now, she _needs_ you. She _needs_ you to fuck her and take her away from the real world and what's going on in her life…"

"Thanks for the lecture, Sigmund Freud, but that's all a bunch of bullshit. Okay? I know she's not using me because she loves me…"

"Are you that dense? Holy hell…" The younger pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. "Look, Silv, I know you really care about her, but you're not seeing the whole picture. You have tunnel vision. She's only saying that she loves you so that you don't suspect her of using you and break it off. I mean, I just told you that she _needs_ that sex."

"She's not using me…"

"Maybe I should use a more practical approach to explaining this, since the psychological approach is going way over your head. Does she still wear her wedding ring?"

"She only…"

"It's a yes or no question. Don't explain."

Silver sighed. "Yes."

"Does she still refer to Sonic as her husband?"

"Sometimes."

"That's a 'yes'. Does she seem willing to get a divorce?"

There was a long pause. Then, "No."

"Has she even considered a divorce?"

"No."

"Does she have a job?"

"No. She's a stay at home mom. Sonic pays for all her stuff."

"Do you have a job?"

"No."

"Do you have a car?"

"No."

"Okay. All these answers you've just given me confirms that she's using you. She still wears her ring, which means that she still advertises that Sonic's her husband. Blaze might tell you that there's a reason for her still wearing it, but come on man. If he broke her heart and she really didn't want shit to do with him, she'd take that ring and throw it as far away as she could."

Silver had to admit, as much as it hurt for him to think like that, Haqq did have a point.

"She still refers to Sonic as her husband, even though he's probably still fucking around with his mistress. That means that she's still intent on being married to him. She clearly doesn't want a divorce, especially if she hasn't considered it. And the kicker: neither one of you have sources of income. If she were to leave the house and come live with you, you wouldn't be able to provide for her and her son. She don't want a relationship with you, you can't do anything for her. All she wants is the pipe. And you keep supplying it."

His cousin was right. Silver hated it, but there was nothing he could do about it. Haqq hit every point that could be hit, and the message communicated was clear. While he _did_ love Blaze, it was obvious that she didn't feel the same. There were signs everywhere that pointed to him being used. He was a simple pawn to a moment without pain, nothing more. How could he have not seen this before? Was he that blinded by his need for a second chance with her that he couldn't notice how hard she fought against leaving Sonic? Did he want her that badly?

No wonder Blaze always got pissed whenever he mentioned the D-word. It wasn't that she couldn't. It wasn't that she was afraid of what it would do to Shift. She just didn't want to. She wasn't inhibited because Sonic wouldn't pay for a divorce. She was inhibited because she had no intentions of ending her marriage. All of this newly found information had been shrouded in darkness, the darkness of his own wants and needs; and Haqq came with the light of reality to show him just what he'd been overlooking. And reality hurt. It hurt so badly. It was worse that a gunshot wound. That would heal, and in time it wouldn't hurt anymore. But this, this crushing veracity hurt worse every time Silver tried to analyze it.

Every time he wondered why, he felt pain. Every time he wondered when it started, he felt pain. Every time he wondered how he could've been so oblivious to it, he felt pain. The latter hurt worse than anything else.

"Silver, I'm sorry. I really am. I think Blaze is cool and everything, but you're my cousin and I love you. I felt that you should know the truth," Haqq stated, placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "I hate that this hurts you. I especially hate it because I'm the one that said it, but I'd rather you know now than find out later. This probably won't make you feel better, but I'm not gonna tell anyone about this. You've got enough shit on your plate to deal with." And then he was gone, walking away from the complex with his phone to his ear.

Tears began to well up and fall from Silver's eyes. This hurt worse than when he found out that Blaze was engaged. This pain that he was feeling hurt worse than his old heartbreak, because it meant that his second chance was gone. He'd never had one. He missed his only chance to be with Blaze when he skipped out on her wedding.

Opportunity had knocked once, and left before he could even open the door.

 _ **A/N: Are you confused? Good. That means I did my job.**_

 _ **I do not talk, I am just a writer.**_


End file.
